So how do we press forward in joy, despite hardships? Let’s walk through Psalm 37 and check out two biblical tips on how to celebrate the good things in life.
As someone recovering from the harsh, engrained principles of legalism, I’ll be the first to say that I grew up believing Christianity was an enslavement to rules, and if I gave up the notion that life could be fun and engulfed myself in stark religious rituals, then I would receive eternal life.
Thanks to God’s grace, therapy, and kind believers I’ve met on my journey, I now know that grace is a byproduct of freedom, and if Christ lives in me, I am free to celebrate love. I’m free to enjoy His goodness and all the hope, laughter, and confetti that comes with such an anti-shackled truth.
Meanwhile, in 2021, it can be hard to celebrate. Every time you open your phone, turn on the tv, tune into the radio, it’s all viruses, violence, and all very bad things. Not much to rejoice in, huh? Yet, that’s the pinnacle of the Christian faith, having something to revel in even when we’re surrounded by a pile of ash.
If we think not, perhaps we should look at Job, a man who lost everything and still stood firm on the reality that God is good. Life is good. Hope triumphs. And for that, we should press forward.
So how do we press forward in joy, despite hardships? Let’s walk through Psalm 37 and check out two biblical tips on how to celebrate the good things in life:
1. Do Good Where You Are. Stay Plugged In.
Psalm 37:3 says,” Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.” Often, this verse is overlooked for the famous Psalm 37:4 that reminds us to “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Unfortunately, when we skip verse three, we lose the antidote for verse four.
Before we can find delight in the Lord, we have to trust Him. We must hang on His every word, blindly follow Him into the woods, believe with all of our hearts that He’ll lead us out of the woods too. The most practical way to trust Him is to obey His basic command to love others. Simply put: do good. Give when it’s hard. Stay plugged into the land where He’s placed you, the people he has provided you with, and choose to do good.
Psalm 37:3 clearly lays out that if you trust Him, if you do good right where you are, you’ll find joy in the safety God provides. What I love most about God’s safety is that it’s never safe... allow me to explain: we are safe in our eternal destination, in forever knowing our worth.
Meanwhile, God can call us to do the wildest, most outlandish things, the type of “hands and feet” missions that are anything but safe. They’re dangerous, drastic, adventurous, and soul-filling. Now, that’s not to say we will all be called overseas, but that is to say that God has a knack for nudging us toward the harder things.
Again, God’s safety is anything but safe. Yet, our joy comes from pushing through holed-up, anxious safety as we trade fear for the pure fun that comes when God calls us to step outside our comfort zones and explore what He has for us.
2. Choose to Seek goodness amidst Tragedies
This is where our boy Job comes in, not that he’ll steal any of Psalm 37’s thunder, but, thanks to his testimony, we are without excuse to see God’s goodness even in the hardest times.
Back to Psalm 37, verses 18-19 remind us that “The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.” These verses don’t count out disaster. In fact, they emphasize that Christians will endure disasters, but they won’t wither. And that’s the big, booming, God-glorifying difference.
We survive, but we don’t come out on the other side starved, mangled, gasping for air. Instead, we see disaster, even famine, as a season in which we have plenty. Our well never runs dry. Our stock barn never loses its reserves. Not that we don’t physically, emotionally, and spiritually feel the weight of life’s worst, but we are anchored in the assurance that we will never be without what matters most.
Sure, we might be without the paycheck we were banking on, the memories we were supposed to make with someone that up and left, but we are never without God, the God who makes His presence known, the God who doesn’t shy away from our tears and anger, the God who doesn’t mind quietly writing love notes on our hearts.
When the God of everything is standing in the middle of our nothing, we find goodness amidst the worst tragedies. We find that life’s hardest hits won’t leave us flat on our backs. And for that, we stand sure, we stand proud, we stand knowing that we will truly enjoy plenty.
The good things in life often require a fresh perspective, a willingness to lay down expectations for opportunities.
Perhaps it’s time for you to accept that you are right where God wants you to be, but in order to reap the joys of the season, you must get active in investing in others. Maybe life sucks right now, plain and simple, but now, more than ever, you must be willing to step back and call out the good things for all they are worth—this is your very lifeline to God.
Like Job says in the opening chapter of his story, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Psalm 37:21).
By Him, through Him, for Him, in light of who He is, joy is forever ours.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/torwai
