Esther 9:22, 27-28 (ESV)

[22] as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

[27] the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year, [28] that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every clan, province, and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.

The Jews are a people who know how to celebrate. They have faced genocide and survived. Their enemies have been destroyed. Their response is to throw a party. What is perhaps more significant than their celebration is the fact that they “obligated themselves and their offspring…to keep these days…every year.” Purim became an annual celebration still observed today. A Jewish website explain Purim says that the celebration reminds people to look up and remember the deliverance that came from God to his people. It is a celebration that moves from heaven to earth.

Sometimes I wonder if we Christians celebrate too little. I wrote earlier in my meditations on Esther that we are too now focused. When we forget the past deliverance of God, we lose sight of the future, coming deliverance, and we lose hope. Celebrating past deliverances and victories works to turn our eyes upward again and reminds us of God’s greatness, faithfulness, and power.

After reciting a list of qualities that ought to be in the lives of believers, Peter writes, “For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins” (2 Peter 1:9 ESV). We so easily forget. We forget that we have been cleansed. We forget that we have been empowered. We forget that we have been delivered. We forget that God has been faithful. In forgetting, we lose hope. We need occasional reminders, celebrations that turn our eyes upward again and remind us of the faithfulness of God.

What is it that you need to celebrate? What is it that you need to remember? Take a few moments today and reflect back on the faithfulness of God. It is easy for us to reflect back on all the pain, bad decisions, and difficulties of life. Let’s intentionally look back on God’s faithfulness. As the old hymn reminds us,

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

Oh soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness to see
There's a light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free