The Year of Jubilee!

My word for 2019 is "Jubilee".

I'm excited about the word, partly because it's the first time I've chosen a word for the year and partly because the Biblical concept of jubilee is SO GOOD. (I originally mistyped it as "SO GOD" and you know what? It's that, too! It is SO GOD to command a time of rest and rejoicing for His people.)

This blog post is a testament not to my brilliance at coming up with the word, nor my faithfulness at keeping focused upon it - which is sure to be lacking in 2019. This is a testimony to God's perfect and timely Providence. His shepherding. This post is written with the earnest hope that you'll be caught up in the beauty of jubilee too, even in a small way, and that you'll look not at the author of these words, but upon the Author of jubilee, our Jubilee Himself, and worship.

Why Jubilee?

Because I spent the better part of last year chasing so many things that weren't God. They were all good things, full of blessings. But they weren't God.  They were meant to serve God. God showed up all of the time in the things I was working on. But they weren't God. I tried to give every labor of my hands, every fruit, to the Lord. But they weren't Him. There wasn't anything inherently wrong with any of it, except that I felt spread so thin doing all of the good things, and had nothing left for the best thing.

This fall, God began to convict me of my pride in doing all the things. My prayer request at Bible study a few times was that I would learn that God can, in fact, run the world without me! I needed to take. a seat.! Who do I think I am, anyway?

Worshipping anything other than God is exhausting. Romans 1 tells us that exchanging the Creator for the creature and serving the latter leads to judgment (discipline, for the believer). God used my exhaustion, and things related to our children, to show me that I had begun to worship busy-ness, serving, involvement, control. I felt that if I didn't step up and do the things, then the things wouldn't get done. At least, not correctly! As if the body of Christ might be made up of an earlobe (am I an earlobe?) and nothing else. As if He couldn't raise up anybody else to do the things. As if the things were more important than the thing-Maker.

I poured my heart out to my sister over lunch recently. She is the best listener! She spoke words - Scripture - that were the answer I didn't expect. She didn't say, "You're doing too much! You deserve a break!" What she told me, tenderly and firmly, was this: "You have everything you need for life and Godliness." (There was probably more to it, but this. This was the arrow God fired at me.)

Full stop. Tears sprang to my eyes. Truth devastated my heart.

I felt drained, depleted, lacking - but that simply is not the truth about me, in Christ. What is true is that God's divine power has given me everything that I need pertaining to life and Godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to the knowledge of His own glory and excellence (2 Peter 1:3). What is also true is that I had not been stewarding His gifts well - time, talents, energy, His very grace.

Something needed to change. What? I know! A word for the year! #thereIfixedit

On a Friday, my sister spoke truth. On Saturday, I told her I was looking for an actual, single word of focus for 2019. On Sunday, at her church, a guest pastor taught us about the year of jubilee that God commanded His people in Leviticus 25.

Just like that: Jubilee

Yeah, my word for the year comes from the book of Leviticus. How's that for surprises?

Other words, up for consideration:
Focus
Simplify
Margins
Worship
Rest
Relationship

Jubilee encompasses all of this and more! I would actually love to blog through the eight elements of jubilee and how they all point to Christ. How jubilee is at the heart of God's desire for His people. Ever since I first learned about the year of jubilee, I've loved how it illustrates so much of the character of God.

I've NOT been living in jubilee! (In fairness, the jubilee was to be the fiftieth year; it was not an ongoing state of living for God's people. In this fallen world, we are not always able, or meant to be, in jubilee..but it does point to our eternal hope, our forever jubilee! This *is* what we are ultimately made for!) So in the way of seasons and years, after a long time of working and serving, God convicted my heart to Sabbath. Not only Sabbath, but Jubilee!

Here are the eight elements - and if I can make the time without sacrificing the greatest thing, rejoicing in the abundance of Christ and the blessing of my family - I will indeed blog through them because they are WORTH thinking about! May this tiny glimpse of jubilee lead you to worship our Savior, our King, our ultimate Jubilee!

The Year of Jubilee:
1. Began with Repentance - the year was to start with a trumpet on the Day of Atonement. The day the high priest would make atonement for the sins of the people. Of course, Christ did that for us once and for all on the cross! Being made right with God, through Christ, comes before any true joy! And ongoing repentance is key to true fellowship with our King.

Question: What are the sins I need to repent of as I seek the Lord's jubilee? Busy-ness, idolatry, pride, self-sufficiency...

*Note: This has to come first because of the unyielding holiness of God. But - look at how much blessing pours out after this first step of repentance!

2. Centered in Release - no Jew could be a hired servant during the Year of Jubilee. Christ, when He came, proclaimed freedom to the captives! We are free from the curse and mastery of sin and death!

Question: What am I serving that I need to release - or be released from - in order to love Christ better?

3. Restoration - properties would be restored to their original owners. The poor were given a fresh start because of this. In Christ, we are a new creation, given right standing and an inheritance.

Question: Where do I need restoration, emotionally, spiritually, and in relationships? How can I make this year a time of nourishment and replenishment?

4. Reunion - slaves returned to their families! Jesus brings people to God. We are not set free - released - to be on our own. We are released in order to be reunited to God.

Question: How can I enjoy reunion with God? Where can I cultivate the time and space needed to love my Savior more? How can I do the same in my most important relationships, especially at home? (See also: Release - let go of some things!)

5. Rest - the land was given rest from planting crops, and the people were instructed to rest from working the land. Jesus brings rest from our works, which could never save us anyway.

Question: Which of my "fields" needs to lie fallow this year in order to love Christ and my family better? I have been a "Martha" and need to rediscover the heart of Mary at Jesus' feet.

6. Reliance - because people could not work the land, and the Year of Jubilee was to follow a Sabbath year when they couldn't plant and harvest either, where would their food come from? The Israelites had to trust God for enough wild-growing food to gather for the year. Moreover, because they were not permitted to plant for the whole year, God would provide in the sixth year, enough for THREE years! The coming Sabbath year, the Jubilee year, and then for the following year while the nearly planted seed grew up for a harvest. When the people would sow seed in the eighth year, they would STILL have enough old crop to eat for that year. This amount of provision is staggering. Likewise, Christ provides all that we need and abundantly more, for salvation, for life, for Godliness.

Question: In what areas do I need to lay down my pride and self-reliance, and trust God to provide - for myself, for my family, for ministries and activities?

7. Remittance - all debts were forgiven among God's people. Christ brings forgiveness of all our debts, all our sins against God, freeing us to use our resources for worship, obedience, and service.

Question: Are there debts against me, or debts I owe others, that need to be remitted or forgiven? These could be emotional or tangible.

8. Rejoicing! - with all the release, restoration, reunions, rest, and relying on God's provision, can you imagine the amount of rejoicing there would have been! The jubilee!

Friends, Jesus is our Jubilee! Reminds me of a song that summarizes is well. It's a tune by our favorite "Christian Rock Star" (my daughter's declaration):

"Jubilee" (Michael Card)

The Lord provided for a time
for the slaves to be set free,
For the debts to all be canceled
so His chosen ones could see:
His deep desire was for forgiveness,
He longed to see their liberty;
And His yearning was embodied
in the Year of Jubilee.

Chorus:
Jubilee, Jubilee,
Jesus is our Jubilee.
Debts forgiven,
Slaves set free,
Jesus is our Jubilee!

At the Lord's appointed time
His deep desire became a man,
The heart of all true jubilation
and with joy we understand -
In his voice we hear a trumpet sound
that tells us we are free!
He is the incarnation
Of the year of Jubilee!

(Chorus)

To be so completely guilty,
given over to despair;
To look into your judge's face,
and see a Savior there.


How do we intend to pursue a year of jubilee at our house? Joel and I are both prayerfully considering this. The questions listed above are some of what we are thinking about. We are both journaling the eight elements, writing keywords or thoughts that apply to our lives. Under "rejoicing", I wrote "feast" as one of my keywords, because we have been in a food rut and I'd like to rediscover the joy of creating and enjoying meals together.

I think it will be a year of growing into the concept of jubilee, rather than starting with it perfectly laid out. We have already been humming the tune above to each other, with a wink and a smile, when we notice cranky attitudes or snappy words happening. Feel free to hold us accountable, if you are around us in real life!

That's not to say we expect it to be a year of ease and repose. It may well be a year of suffering, trials, and sorrow. The challenge for the believer is to "Count it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds, my brothers! For we know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4). It's completely opposite of what the world expects, to have joy, to dwell in the jubilee of Christ, while life goes to pieces around you. In these times, may we lift our eyes to the Savior, into whose image we are being pressed.

Oh and: I need visuals. Has anyone seen any wall art related to jubilee? I'm sure those Leviticus verses are probably all over Hobby Lobby these days. #popular #shouldbe