10 Bible Verses About Celebrating Life

God is pleased when we cultivate joy and celebrate his goodness.  Even in difficult times, focusing on God’s blessings can lift our heads.  Today, we’ll look at 10 Bible verses about celebrating life.  Then, we will examine practical ways to celebrate in even the most mundane seasons.

Let’s start by soaking in God’s words about celebrating life.

10 Bible Verses About Celebrating Life

As you read these Scriptures, I encourage you to soak in God’s invitation to praise and worship him.  Thank him for the gifts in your life.  He is pleased when you focus on what is true, good, right, and pure.

Encouraging Bible Verses About Celebrating Life and Praising God

1. Psalm 95:2, ESV

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

We can celebrate God’s goodness by thanking him for his blessings.  I like to begin my days by thanking God for two or three gifts.

I might thank him for blessings from the previous day, sweet moments with my family, or the glory of his created world as I look out the window.

Studies in neuroscience show that we can change the way our brains function by spending five minutes giving thanks for 30 consecutive days (Joyful Journey by Dr. James Wilder and colleagues).

2. Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

True joy is found when we become aware of God’s presence with us.  He waits to reveal himself to us and delights in filling us with his joy.  This is why Nehemiah teaches us that God’s joy is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

Ask God to help you become more aware of his presence with you.

Take it a step further and spend a few minutes in silence each day, soaking in the awareness that God is with you.

I like to begin my days and end my days by focusing on God’s presence with me.  In the mornings, I watch house sparrows gather at the bird feeder outside the window and thank God for being with me.  Before falling asleep at night, I imagine God holding me in his arms.

As I become more aware of God’s presence with me, my capacity for joy and celebration expands.

3. Psalm 100:1-5

A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

God delights in our praise.  Whether we are gathered with others to praise him in song or sitting alone in our homes, God inhabits the praises of his people.

Make it a habit to regularly praise God in song.  Draw near to him with a grateful heart and thank him for his love, goodness, compassion, and grace.

4. Lamentations 3:21-25

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

God’s mercies are new every morning.  He waits to reveal himself to us in new ways every day.

Celebrate life every morning by thanking God for a new day to live and worship him with your life.  He is working in every realm of your life, even the difficult areas.  Wait for him and watch for him.  He wants to reveal himself to you.

5. Psalm 118:24

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

For several years, I spoke this Psalm before getting out of bed in the morning.

Our children were young, and I was often awake throughout the night caring for crying babies and frightened toddlers.  Morning often came too soon.

I started speaking the words of Psalm 118:24 because I needed to remind myself that I was stepping into a new day from God, and the day ahead was a gift.  Speaking these simple words helped me shift from grumpiness to gratitude.

6. Proverbs 21:21

Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.

This Proverb teaches us that when we do the right thing and extend kindness to others, we find life, righteousness, and honor.

Do you want to learn to celebrate life and live your best life?  Pursue righteousness and kindness.

Bible Verses About Celebrating Life When Challenges Arise

7. Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

We can always rejoice in God because God is always good.

No matter what you are facing today, ask God to help you rejoice in him.  He will give you strength for every challenge you face.

8. Romans 8:31

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Does it feel like someone is out to get you?

Remember this: Because Jesus lives in you, he can help you rise above those who aim to discourage and defeat you.

9. Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Did a loving adult comfort you by singing over you when you were a child?

My mom used to sing over me to calm me while rubbing my forearm gently.  Thoughts of her loving voice and gentle touch fill me with comfort even now.  In a similar way, God sings over us and wants to comfort us with his love.

We can face any challenge because the Creator of the world sings over us.

10. John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Jesus came to give us abundant life.  He also overcame the works of the enemy once and for all.

When you sense that Satan is out to steal, kill, and destroy in your life, stand on the promise that Christ is greater.  Rebuke the enemy in th name of Jesus and command him to leave.

Jesus came to lead us into the greatest celebration of all: his victory.

~~~

Let’s now take a moment to apply these Bible verses about celebration to our lives.  How do we celebrate when life is hard?  I invite you to join our family in the middle of a long winter, and we’ll explore creative ways to celebrate.

Let’s Apply These Bible Verses About Celebrating Life to Our Everyday Moments

Snow falls heavily on the hundredth day of school.  Our daughter, Bekah, tells me all about it, and I stare into the dark winter night.  I could use a few fresh ways to celebrate in the middle of the dark winter.

I feel just a little bit stuck, and I need a shift in my spirit.

Perhaps you need it, too.

Creative Ways to Celebrate Life

Maybe my sweet girl’s teacher had it right when she counted the school days and threw a party. Certainly, there are thousands of reasons for celebration all around us.  Perhaps we’re too busy living life to stop and throw a party.

Some of the best activities to carry us through the dark seasons of life are celebration-centered.

Our kids often suggest we celebrate birthdays for dolls and stuffed toys at least once every few weeks.

It seems silly, but these parties infuse our home with life and energy.  We wear party hats, light candles, and the atmosphere around us shifts.

Are you stuck in a rut?

Find a reason to celebrate.

Here are three simple ideas:

1. Find a reason to have a party.

You might not feel like breaking out the party hats and baking a cake.  I gently encourage you to do it anyway.

If party hats aren’t your thing, find something that is.  Cook your favorite meal.  Order Chinese.  Plan a picnic.

Our family has at least one party per month.

We partied when Bekah learned to read.  We’re planning a party when the kids log 100 miles on the bike path.  We plan to celebrate Groundhog Day and Valentine’s Day. There’s always something to celebrate.

2. Embrace a family or friend theme night.

Theme nights create a celebration at any time.

Dress up in themed costumes made from household objects.

Enjoy a game night, movie night, pizza night, or ice cream sundae night.

A themed evening can add an extra splash of excitement to a long, hard season.  This can be a great time to invite friends or neighbors to join you for the celebration.

3. Celebrate the people you cherish with simple gestures.

Find a way to celebrate someone you cherish this month.

Mail a card to an elderly relative.

Send an email to a distant friend.

Deliver dinner to a doorstep.

Take a plate of cookies to a neighbor.

Your gesture might make someone’s month.  It might make yours, too.  After all, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

 

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