Celebrating the Goodness of God

# 274 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 20:4-8a, “So Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you." 5 And David said to Jonathan, "Indeed tomorrow is the New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may hide in the field until the third day at evening. 6 "If your father misses me at all, then say, 'David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.' 7 "If he says thus: 'It is well,' your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, then be sure that evil is determined by him. 8 "Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. (1 Sam 20:4-8a) David has a plan to find out what Saul's intentions are toward him. He knows what they are, but he wants his bosom buddy Jonathan to know too. His plan is simple, there is a full moon tomorrow (the beginning of the month) and this was a time that God has commanded families to gather and celebrate with a meal. Nu 10:10 "Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the LORD your God." What a wonderful practice! Getting together with your extended family to celebrate the goodness of God! It's certainly not commanded anymore, but it sounds to me like a good idea. For the most part, we Americans have gotten too busy and we have put such family gatherings on the back burner. One of the things I appreciate about the immigrants who come to our land is how they seem to appreciate these kinds of gatherings much more than we do. Our park systems are very often booked on Saturdays and Sundays with extended family gatherings where music, food, and good times abound. Wouldn't it be great if we would recapture that spirit in our Americanized families? And wouldn't it be great to gather with family to not only celebrate each other, but to make it a point to spend time thanking and praising God who has brought us this far? Reminding each other of the goodness of God is always a good idea. God, You are so good, help us to learn to celebrate that goodness!