Exuberant Joy; Bring on the Feast

I'm so glad you are here! I hope during your visit you get a glimpse of God's heart for we become what we are gazing at. I pray that God refreshes you and gives you readiness to persevere in what He has for you today.  

My desire is to be a blessing to you in helping you know God more and make Him known so I've made these Resources available to you and have the Missional Living blog tab for continual practical ideas of how to live on mission right where you are. And currently I am writing my way through Judges sharing glimpses of God's heart and character for a weekday devotional. To check out the entire series so far head on over the the Judges Devotional. And if you are a blogger, come on over on Friday's for a blog hop.   

"Now his father went down to see the woman. And Samson made a feast there, as was customary for bridegrooms. When he appeared, he was given thirty companions." Judges 14:10-11

In Samson's day it was customary for the father to make the arrangements for the marriage. Dad footed the bill for the several day long feast. Beautiful comparison to the Father making arrangements for our wedding feast of the Lamb. But I wonder what Manoah must have been thinking and feeling going down with Samson. Celebrating and making arrangements to disobey the Lord. Joy doesn't come to mind.

"Everything that is going on in this event is written in such a way that the average Hebrew reader would know exactly what was happening. You and I are not disgusted by what we are reading because we don't understand the middle eastern culture. But a Hebrew person would see this as something unthinkable. In fact, it would almost seem unnatural. The event itself is unnatural because a respectable Hebrew wouldn't be socializing with the Philistines let alone marrying one."Mike Nobis  
So it makes sense why Samson was given friends, his didn't go with him. And these 30 I'm sure weren't there to support ole Sam. Probably there to keep a close on him and get a free weeks worth of food and alcohol.

But when I think of the Father making arrangements for us, I picture it being very different. Exuberant joy from the Father rather than sadness, confusion and hope deferred. And rather than strangers who we can't relate to and have totally different values and belief systems, there will be a bond between all at the feast. Instead of celebrating over pleasures of the flesh, we will celebrate over the One truly worthy. 

Joy. The greatest joy. Experienced by us. Experienced by the Father.

The Lord is exuberantly joyful over you, over Your life and His plans for you. So much so He can be compared to a singing and dancing warrior, "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zeph. 3:17 


And why? Is it because we are so great? No, not really. It's because He is! It's because we are the means to show and tell the world how incredible He is. And because His plans for our lives are to make His name famous. That is what is worthy of exuberant joy. Not that we are so great, but that He is, able to take the unworthy and make them worthy, unholy and made holy, un-useful made useful and a thousand other things all for the glory of His name.

Excited to hang out with you at the wedding feast of the lamb,

Pictures are from a couple of our students wedding.

Want to hear what God is up to? Want to hear cool stories of how He is changing lives on campus? Head on over to the Missional Living tab to catch the What's God Up To series.

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I'm linking up with:
A Holy Experience, Good Morning Girls, Women Living Well, My Daily Walk in His Grace,Internet Cafe Devotions, Reflections of His Grace