Go to sleep. Wake up. Celebrate.

These words may have very little meaning without context. Add to them the animated and joyful expressions of a one-year-old boy sitting in his father’s lap pretending to go to sleep, wake up and celebrate at his father’s command. To witness this routine over the course of several years was more than happenstance or even quality time. It has been a lesson of encouragement and expectation.

Life is captivating with all its joys and challenges, and we respond to it with our ambitions, comfort, and in some instances surrender. Over time, we learn that some of our ambitions are self-seeking, our comforts last too long, and our surrenders yielded to the wrong will. So what do we do? We take note of the little boy responding to his father’s command.

Watching the sweet little boy rest his head in his father’s chest when he pretended to go to sleep shows that he felt safe. The emotional or mental security that we may need is secondary compared to the safety we have in God. It may be that we want to feel safe enough in a relationship to trust the person with our vulnerability, to confide in an advisor about our financial situation, or to communicate with family about matters regarding the passing of a loved one. Whatever storm we face we must employ our faith, knowing that everything works for the good of those that love Him.

Once we’ve rested in the safety that we have and the assurance that everything will work out in the end, there is an awareness that we wake up to. That awareness is who we are in God. Our governing body is our source for everything. Not only does God give us purpose, He also gives us the power and authority to complete it and have true fulfillment while doing so. Understanding our potential affects our capacity to believe and to be productive. There is an entity that seeks and provokes our demise, but it has no authority except what we give it. If not careful we begin to vent, to take counsel from and seek validation from those that have no power or authority. Like the little boy, we wake up with the grace of knowing that we have the discernment and wisdom to move forward in our day.

Celebrate everything. Some people may question this or find it foolish, but when we are in our place of knowing, we understand that it is our gratitude and joyful expectation of the desired end that impacts everything. We celebrate every small victory and major setback, because it is all designed to work in our favor, it is all part of a predestined end.

No matter what your circumstance is or what challenge you may be facing, throw your hands up and give a shout of victory. Today is a day of celebration.