(Writing and Photography by Sheila Gail Landgraf)
Here
is a little article that I wrote several years ago as we approached the first
day of Sukkot/The Feast Of Tabernacles.
It was a period of time when my husband had been unemployed for quite
awhile, I was cut back to 32 hours a week on my job and we were struggling
quite a bit. These thoughts give me
great comfort now, as I look back and realize how God always looks after His
children, no matter what their circumstances.
This temporary time taught me to learn how to better live out my life’s
verse.
The time has arrived for The Feast of
Tabernacles!
On the fifteenth day of this seventh
month is the Festival of Sukkot, seven days
for the L-RD
(Leviticus 23:34)
I LOVE
Sukkot!!!!!
It is a
sweet, sweet time before the Lord that I treasure every year. Of course, I can’t be in Jerusalem this year,
and I am not a member at a Jewish congregation, but I am one of those born
again, believing Christians who has come to understand the great significance
of The Feast of Tabernacles, and celebrating this time before the Lord is
always a big HUGE thing in my year.
This season I’ve
had to literally claw my way through the trappings of the world in order to
get to God’s way of celebration. It should be easy, not hard; but it hasn’t
happened that way this year. Arriving in the proper place has not been at all
easy.
I had dreamed all year of gathering the whole family together into a little mountain
resort town, worshipping together every day and celebrating the joy of The Lord
together all during the feast week, and just spending family time and relaxing
in the evenings. Things gradually, one by
one, fell apart. Everyone has made some other
plans, money was tight, etc., etc. Well,
yes, that was my perfect plan, but alas, God has allowed a situation where I
have unexpectedly had to forfeit this plan for something much simpler.
My first
prayer was one of frustration. Nothing
should stop the joy of the feast, so I just begin to passionately hold that up
to God. He answers me that I am
absolutely right. Hmmmm…..so I say but Lord;
my budget will not allow a trip with the family this time. I’ve done everything that I can, but it just
isn’t happening.
“Yes, I
know” is what I hear.
But Lord,
why has it worked out this way? And the
answer is the most surprising thing, but I do hear it.
“Because I
have called you to be content in all circumstances.”
I suddenly
remembered the verse I long ago chose for my life verse,
Philippians 4:11-13.
The words screamed out to me: Not
that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,
therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know
how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full
and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth me.
I had no idea that keeping this wonderful
season that I have previously kept with such ease was going to be so hard and
complicated this year. You know
what? Sometimes God REALLY calls on you
to live out those life verses.
Now, that
word “contentment” isn’t exactly what
pops into my mind when I think of
celebrating a weeklong festival before the
Lord. I envision feasting, dancing,
singing in crowds of joyful people with great fanfare! So finally I
gather my courage and I ask The Lord
what He has planned for me this week, knowing that asking Him was the very first
thing I should have considered all along.
He says back to me those hard to digest words I often hear:
“I will show
you. Trust me.”
I am sure it
is wrong to complain, but those words didn’t give me much direction.
Next thing I
know, my work calls to tell me they have a great need for me to be in the
office on Monday and they want me to postpone my vacation time I’ve set aside
at least one day, maybe more. I had been
trying to regroup and at least make a not so extravagant plan for something special
to do at home with the family during this feast, but now I can’t even get the
first day off from work, and will possibly even have more time than that tied
up at work.
The Ox is in
the ditch.
Some people
would say it is a sin for me to work, and I should just take the time off
anyway. I had to confess to these
zealots that I was in a bondage that I had created for myself – I had a mortgage and
needed to keep my job in order to pay my bills. We
were going through tough financial times out there in the business world. If you were employed you were one of the
blessed, and you should not take that for granted in today’s economy. My heart was already hurting for those that I worked
with that had recently been let go for no fault of their own. I did have to remember that God said we should be responsible stewards. I needed to keep my word and pay my bills. I needed my job, although at the time I actually did have on my
mind that maybe I no longer needed a mortgage, but God would have to led me
through that decision and process over time.
I couldn't change anything overnight. This was something out of my control. I stood in the midst of making tough decisions, of turning one way and
then the other until I finally just ended up saying:
“Okay, Lord, I trust You.”
I’m was looking
out my bedroom window, feeling sorry for myself, thinking sadly that I had not even
built a sukkah!. I felt like a failure before God actually, because of not living up to my
own testimony about keeping God’s feasts and festivals. I knew in my heart He wanted us to keep
them! Then, almost as if someone was standing behind
me and tapping ne on the shoulder, God reminds me that my back deck is a three
sided structure that you can see the stars through.
Hmmm……………
He has
provided what I was not prepared for. I
think of this simple little miracle and my heart becomes happier. I go about planning an outdoor dinner on the
deck for tonight. We may not be
starting the feast in a fancy place, but our home is a good place. The view from our deck will be great! l There will be lots of stars shining through
the shelter. This is good.
I consider
the food. My planning has been bad. My budget has been so tight that the menu
will probably need to be very limited. I
look in my pantry and find some great selections that I had overlooked. God always provides what you need. I had the physical things all along without
even knowing it, now I just had to bring my mind and my spirit to the right
place. That was the thing that was most
needed. I confessed my sins of worry and
anxiety to God. I felt His forgiveness
flood over me. I thanked God for his
awesome provision, and asked Him to keep my eyes wide open to all the daily
blessings He brings from now on. I had
everything that we needed right here under our own roof to offer a joyful feast
of thanksgiving to God on the first night of the festival.
I thought of
the people of God throughout history who had to celebrate their feast days
under truly hard circumstances. There
were those who celebrated under the rule
of captivity. I thought of those Jewish heroes
that had to celebrate their feast days in concentration camps. I remembered Corrie Ten Boom and her messages
of how she found hope when there was no hope.
I thought of Joseph worshipping God in the pagan life he was forced to
live in Egypt. I began to see that my problems
were all in my head.
I resolved
that after work tomorrow, I can do the same again. We could have our feast on our provided
sukkah on the deck and look at the stars and thank The God of Heaven and Earth
every night during this week.
Suddenly I felt
very rested and not at all stressed.
Maybe I was
just anxious for nothing?
I apologized
to God for being so stressed over the details.
I am usually such a “Mary,” always worshipping at The Master’s feel; but
this week I have been caught acting and behaving just like a “Martha” getting
all bogged down in the details and the work and so much so that I almost missed
the whole point of setting aside the time to listen, worship, rest and just be
thankful and joyful in the Lord.
I have been reminded this week that God simply
wants me to sit at His feet and worship.
It doesn’t have to be elaborate, it can be as simple as a dinner on my
back deck with my husband. We will feast
with the things that He has provided and offer thanksgiving prayers, ever
grateful that we have food and shelter for this day, for this moment and for
this season.
It is enough
to bask in God’s presence right where we are, right in the moment that we are
living in, in the temples of our temporary bodies that He has given us and with
our spirits that will never be destroyed or pass away.
When the
stars come out in the night sky, we will look up to see God’s story written in
them.
Is it not a
great miracle?
Is it not a
wonderful thing just to sit after a full meal and look up at the night sky and
be ever thankful that God is in control and we are not?
The God who
thinks way beyond anything that I could ever imagine reminded me that we own a
telescope that is not even being used. I
had not thought of it in years. I hasten
to go out to the storage area and clean it up and place it next to our table on
the deck. Yes, we have everything that
we need, and even more!
Happy Feast
of Tabernacles Everyone!
May you be
able to see God’s blessing unfold before you as you worship and sit at His feet
this week.
I pray that
the world will not be able to keep you from all the good that God has blessed
you with.
May we all
live in eager anticipation for the time when Messiah returns to set up His
Kingdom and rule and reign, for a thousand years of peace.
He will
graciously provide everything that we need, and it could just be that the simple things are actually the richest things
after all.