Celebrate Your Spiritual Victories 

My youngest grandson had been on the verge of transitioning from crawling to walking for several weeks. Appropriately enough, it was on the day of his first birthday that he took a combination of steps that could officially be considered his initial walk. He even chose a special location for the event. His family was visiting the Georgia Aquarium that day. So while standing in front of a big glass window with a plethora of beautiful fish in the background, our grandson accomplished his significant feat. Not only was his family cheering him on, but the crowd of other guests at that location realized what was going on and gave him a rousing ovation. I guess that reaction, along with the enthusiastic responses he received from subsequent walks, made an impression on him. Now when he walks, he claps his hands, recognizing that it is reason for celebration.

Milestones in life are worth celebrating, including the ones in our journey with the Lord. We are often quick to get down on ourselves or to become discouraged when we falter spiritually, get tripped up by some temptation, or fail to make as much progress as we had hoped in our quest to become a more mature follower of Jesus. And those incidents may indeed call us to repentance, to lean more heavily on the Lord, to be more disciplined, or to surrender more fully to the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. However, let’s not get so bogged down in our shortcomings that we fail to recognize our victories and the progress we are making. Those spiritual milestones and victories are reason for celebration.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells three related parables about the “lost” – a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. One of the common factors in those stories is that after what was lost was found, there was joy and a celebration. In applying the truths from those stories, Jesus declares that the milestone event of a lost sinner repenting is the cause for rejoicing in heaven. If the residents of heaven find reason to rejoice in such an important occurrence, shouldn’t we?

While that moment of salvation when one goes from being lost to being found is the most crucial of events to recognize and celebrate, there may be other significant victories in our journey we should rejoice over as well. Celebrate when you overcome that temptation rather than giving in to it. Rejoice when you are becoming more regular in your Bible reading and prayer times. Be thankful when you see Christlike qualities coming through more often in your life. Celebrate that you were a bold witness for Christ this time and didn’t let fear force you into silence. Rejoice that you were able to show love to that person you find hard to love. Notice the growth that you are experiencing and celebrate it.

While those spiritual milestones are worthy of celebrating, let’s not lose sight of one significant truth. My grandson is clapping when he walks now, clapping with others and clapping for himself. Likewise, we can clap when we make forward strides in our walk with the Lord. However, we shouldn’t be clapping mainly for ourselves. We couldn’t do any of this in our own strength. We need to be clapping for the Lord. Concerning that initial step of salvation and everything that follows leading us to maturity in Christ, it is all due to the grace, power, and help of the Lord. He is the One who deserves the praise, not us.

So celebrate those spiritual victories and the progress you are making in your journey with Jesus. Let’s just be sure to give all the glory for it to the Lord. Clap for Him.