City Life Starter

Written by Aisha Darwesh

The Word

⁹ After this I looked, and behold, right in front of me I saw a vast multitude of people—an enormous multitude so huge that no one could count—made up of victorious ones from every nation, tribe, people group, and language. They were all in glistening white robes, standing before the throne and before the Lamb with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they shouted out with a passionate voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God

seated on the throne

and to the Lamb!”

¹¹ All the angels were standing in a circle around the throne with the elders and the four living creatures, and they all fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² singing:

“Amen! Praise and glory,

wisdom and thanksgiving,

honor, power, and might

belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!”

–Revelation 7:9-12 (TPT)

¹² The next day the news that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem swept through the massive crowd gathered for the feast. ¹³ So they took palm branches and went out to meet him. Everyone was shouting, “Lord, be our Savior!  Blessed is the one who comes to us sent from Yahweh, the King of Israel!”

–John 12:12-13 (TPT)

² We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection.  His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!

–Hebrews 12:2 (TPT)

Aisha’s Analysis

The above scriptures illustrate the celebration of Jesus as our victorious king. As believers, we collectively share this wonderful victory over sin in Christ. This victory that was previously impossible and insurmountable to attain on our own is made accessible to all who place their faith in the one person who conquered sin and death: our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

This is a beautiful, joyful truth that the enemy would just love for us to forget. However, that is all the more reason to celebrate! We are celebrating a victory that’s already been won! That means even on our worst day when everything in this earthly life seems to be falling apart, we can still shout for joy and celebrate our Savior. 

Jesus models this for us perfectly when He obeyed God even to the point of death on a cross. Hebrews 12:2 states Jesus focused on the joy of knowing that we would be His, which allowed Him to endure the agony and humiliation of dying by crucifixion. He celebrated us before we even knew we needed Him. Truly, there is no one or nothing else in this world worthy of our complete devotion and whole-hearted worship. 

Jesus celebrated the surpassing joy of obeying His Father who wanted a restored relationship with humanity, and this empowered Him to do God’s will no matter how excruciating. Likewise, we as followers of Christ, celebrate what He has already done, and embracing this very truth is what empowers us to do God’s will no matter how hard it may be. 

May we never lose sight of this amazing reason to celebrate no matter what we may be going through at any given moment. By God’s grace, we can celebrate now, and we’ll be celebrating forever offering unending praises to our conquering King. 

Application

It is only by celebrating and focusing on the greater, eternal truth that God’s ways are perfect, that we can ever look past the pain and suffering to be endured in the present moment. 

Take a moment to honestly evaluate your frame of thinking. Are you stressed out about something? Are you giving more weight to a particular issue in your life than to God? 

Allow this scripture to reframe your perspective and empower you operate with eternity in mind: 

¹⁷ We view our slight, short-lived troubles in the light of eternity. We see our difficulties as the substance that produces for us an eternal, weighty glory far beyond all comparison, ¹⁸ because we don’t focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal.

–2 Corinthians 4:17-18 TPT

Now, think of a way you can practically celebrate the victory you have in Christ today. It could be any number of things big or small. Smile really big. Ask someone about their day and lean into their world. Sow a financial gift into a ministry or cause you believe in. Give yourself permission to relax. Grab your bible and go on a coffee date with God. These are all just practical ways to celebrate the amazing truth that we belong to Jesus. 

Prayer

Father God, forgive me for not taking more time to celebrate my salvation and the fact that I get to enjoy eternal fellowship with You. I am so supremely blessed to know that I know that I’m Yours forever. I don’t want to give my time or attention to anything that takes away from my main focus of trusting in You and what You have done for me personally. May I celebrate the good news of the gospel and my relationship with You today and every day for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.