“Be joyful at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.” (Deuteronomy 16:14-15)
An Israelite’s joy was annually connected to the experience of agricultural harvest. God instructed that as the earth brought forth its produce, His people would celebrate with a festival.
Who wouldn’t? There is something wonderful about welcoming the results of one’s work. A sense of accomplishment, wonder, gratefulness, and satisfaction. A festival served as more than just a party. It was a cultural foundation stone that kept the focus where it belonged: upon God and then those who worked together to keep their community healthy
But what about those times when Brother Yeshua’s harvest was small or non-existent? He showed up anyway, even if it was only for the distraction. It is most important to express joy at these times. An entire section of the Psalms was collected to encourage pilgrims to Jerusalem when the road felt long and rough and they were tempted to turn back home. These fifteen Jewish poems are collectively called “Psalms of Ascent.” Travelers literally ascended to Jerusalem. From whatever direction on the compass they started, the only way to go was up. As they made their way, the music raised their spirits and connected them to those who had been pilgrims before them.
When God calls us to the place of joy, we can show up even when we’re not feeling it. The last thing we should do when depressed by circumstances or missteps is to isolate. The command of the LORD is “be joyful.” Believe that joy is the life God intends. Joyful worship does not give God anything He does not already have, but it imparts to us something we desperately need.