Open to the Sky

img_4254Last month, we celebrated the Feast of Sukkot with our Jewish friends and family members. One of my favorite things about the holiday is building and decorating a Sukkah or booth on our back deck. First, we constructed a frame out of two-by-fours then enclosed three of the sides using tarps. Next comes the fun part—decorating it with natural materials such as cornstalks, cat-tails, and pine boughs. We had cuttings of mint and Russian sage from our garden this year, which made the inside smell wonderful! Last came the homey touches—adding a tablecloth and napkins, candles, hanging lanterns, even pictures. This year the weather cooperated and we were able to eat all our meals in this outdoor booth without getting rained on or bundling up in countless sweaters.

The Jewish people live in booths to remember how God watched over them and protected them and provided all their needs while they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. And so one of the “rules” for creating an authentic sukkah is that the roof cannot be totally enclosed. You’re supposed to be able to see the sky and the stars overhead when you look up, and remember that God is watching over you. He’s got you covered.img_0064

The Feast of Sukkot (sometimes called the Feast of Tabernacles) is one of the three yearly feasts that the Jewish people were commanded by God to celebrate. It comes at the end of the agricultural year and, like our Thanksgiving Day, celebrates the harvest. We know from the Gospel of John chapter 7 that Jesus obeyed the commandment and went up to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast with His disciples.img_9873

I find it interesting that God made celebrating Sukkot a commandment. That’s how important He thought it was that His people take time to stop and remember everything He has done for us. To remember how He has provided everything we need—including a bountiful harvest. In the description of the feast in Leviticus God says several times to cease working! This is a day of rest! You shall do no work! It’s an act of trust. We can stop working—He has us covered.

As the Feast of Sukkot approached this year, I was already behind on writing my latest novel. I couldn’t afford to stop working for the holiday. Besides, I’m no longer bound by the Old Testament Law, am I? Yet I really wanted to spend time with my family and friends! In my daily devotions, I happened to be reading the book Rhythms of Rest: Finding the Spirit of Sabbath in a Busy World by Shelly Miller. She teaches that one of the reasons we stop work and rest as God commanded is as an act of trust. We need to remind ourselves that the world won’t stop spinning if we take a day of rest from our work. God has everything under control. In other words, instead of looking frantically around at all the things we need to do, we need to look up! There is no limit on His ability to supply all of our needs if we simply trust and obey—the way the Israelites did when they lived in tents in the wilderness. I can rest and trust. So I turned off my computer for five days while our family was here, and I celebrated this feast of joy. And guess what? When I added up my page count at the end of the month, I had completed even more pages than the quota I had assigned myself.

skyI wonder what would happen if I lived each day of the year this way? If, instead of trying to keep all of my many plates spinning like a circus juggler, I remembered that God commands me to rest for my own good. He offers rest as a precious gift. I can almost imagine Jesus sitting in a sukkah with His disciples, looking up at the open sky and saying, “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!”

14 comments

  1. Gary and I got to experience the Feast of Tabernacle on several trips to Israel.
    Love hearing about these things. Can really relate to them.

  2. Oh, I needed to read this today as I am trying to figure out how to juggle all the things I have going on right now!

    1. Sometimes we just have to stop juggling and let all the balls drop. The surprise is, we can always pick them up after we’ve rested and start juggling again.

  3. Thank you for taking the time to share, I too needed to hear it today …God has it under control. Wow. Why is trusting so difficult? Is it losing my control over a situation when God says “be still and know that I am God “

    1. I find that when I practice letting go, especially in situations like Sukkot, it gets easier next time. I think trusting gets easier with experience.

  4. Thank you for another honest blog post, Lynn. I, too, often feel everything will go wrong if I will stop working. And not just working physically, but especially mentally. My mind can go crazy with stressed, repetitive thoughts and high expectations and the urge to try and fix everything myself. Or even, I tend to work and work and work as if that would make others accept and love me. Like they wouldn’t if I stopped trying so hard. Like God would say “Hey, you’re not working. No more grace for you.” The opposite is true in the Kingdom of God. It’s one of my life’s challenges to learn how to sit at his feet like Mary (?) did. To listen to Him when He tells me to do something. How I long to be in that position, that relationship. To stop working so hard and only do what He’s asking me to do.
    I’m looking forward to learning that so I’ll truly be free.
    Love,
    Henrike

  5. One book that really helped me figure it all out, Henrike, is “The Rest of God” by Mark Buchanan. Thank you for sharing your insights into why we’re afraid to rest.

    1. It looks really interesting and helpful, thank you. I’ll see if I can get it in the Netherlands somewhere. And you’re welcome. It felt good, writing it down.

  6. Thank you for sharing this experience. I am very interested in what we can learn from observing Sukkot and other Jewish holidays. I have read about but never actually observed any myself.
    Blessings,
    Lynn

    1. I think you would be blessed and enriched by experiencing some of them. I recommend you begin with observing the Sabbath in the Jewish way. There is much to learn about resting in God and our salvation in Christ.

  7. Lynn,
    Interestingly , as I read your post, I was thinking I should get up and “do something “. I am 68 and because we travel between two states visiting children and grandchildren, most of my commitments have become flexible. I don’t have to get up and clean house, do laundry or pick up kids. It’s ok if I sit and read! My rest has come in some ways. Thank you for sharing. We all are pressured by the pace of life even when its not necessary. Kitty

    1. Interesting observation, Kitty. I think God invites us to rest but we’re too focused on working and serving to receive His invitation. I’m glad you listened to His invitation.

  8. What an awesome tradition! I appreciate you sharing the message of Sukkot. Often i need to take a moment from such busyness and appreciate His blessings. Thanks

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