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COMING INTO THE SEASON OF OUR JOY

By day five of The Feast of Tabernacles we have a very strong sense of where all of this joy is bubbling up from!

We KNOW how fortunate we are to serve a God who has given us so many tremendous blessings.

What a pleasure and privilege to come up every year to the Feast of Tabernacles.

Our focus for Day five is easy; we will be looking at the fact that this time is known as our Season of Joy.

WHAT DOES JOY LOOK LIKE?

From God's perspective; what do you think sheer joy would look like?

If you are at The Feast of Tabernacles; just look at the faces that surround you this minute.

Jesus loved joyful occasions.

We know he loved attending the feasts and festivals and we know he went to weddings.

Many even think He was The Angel of The LORD that went before God's people as they traveled through the wilderness in the days of Moses.

THE CLOUDS OF GLORY

In those day there was a cloud of glory that covered and encircled the tabernacle where the Israelites camped.

They depended on the cloud to direct them, to guide them, and to show them when to stay, when to wait, and when to go.

Rabbis have taught their congregations that the Torah mentions the The Cloud of Glory seven times.

This number of times of mention alludes to seven separate clouds that accompanied them. It is said that Four protected the camp in four directions, one hovered above, one cushioned their feet, and the seventh went ahead of them to ease their journey.

LIKE BEING UNDER SEVEN CLOUDS OF GLORY

Our time at The Feast of Tabernacles is a lot like being under these seven clouds of Glory; one for each of the seven days we celebrate in our Sukkahs.

We receive so much joy for our souls as we think of God's provision and mercy and kindness.

This is a very special kind of joy that we experience; it isn't superficial, or materialistic, or physical. It is not a joy that can be perverted. It is a pure and true joy that radiates from God above.

EXPRESSING INNER JOY IN AN OUTWARD WAY

Each person participating at The Feast of Tabernacles experiences this feeling as an "inner joy." It is a joy that is saturated with holiness, filled with anticipation of what God's future world is going to be like. This Shekinah Glory engulfs us, when we least expect it, and God shows us things here at His appointed times that we can't even put into words.

It is the complete joy of knowing that you are always going to live throughout eternity with The Creator of All.

THE JOY OF KNOWING THE TORAH

The joy we experience by diving deeper and deeper into God's word as we celebrate this feast is also hard to describe in words.

We know that God and His Word are One and perhaps it is that essence of God's Holy Presence that we feel whenever we hear the truth explained to us in so many different ways.

What a blessing!

By following the Word and keeping the appointments of God we begin to build a deeper understanding of The Holy Scriptures.

Having experienced the Feast for over 30 years now; I can honestly say that God has taught me one layer at a time with each year's trip to the festivals and holy days adding at least one new layer.

BRING JOY TO THE EVERYDAY THINGS OF LIFE

After much attendance and worship over the years; you come to feel the fullness of the joy that living the Word of God brings to daily life. This "fullness" and "richness" of God's Glory accompanied by the power of His Word fill us up so much that it overflows and spills out into our ordinary days of life after we return from this season of joy and have to settle back into normal life and work.

HELPING OTHERS EXERCISE THEIR JOY

So; what ways will we use today to focus on this "joy" factor of the feast?

We can start with our story of Isaac's Sukkah; and know the joy of Father Abraham at the end of this story.

Also; we can recognize the fact that a whole lot of our joy comes either from gratitude toward God, or gratitude toward others.

What has anyone done for you lately that you want to express your sincere gratitude for?

For God, or someone we know, to give us moments of joy is an amazing and unforgettable gift. This is a gift of joy that should be shared and acknowledged to others.

Joy and gratitude are very contagious.

Let's learn how to pass them around.

Let all viruses be gone right now and may they all be replaced with either joy or gratitude toward God and our fellowman!

That will be our prayer for the day.

Today we will take about an hour to sit quietly and either write a letter, compose a song, or pay a tribute in some small way to whomever of us, or God; who has helped to make our lives more joyful in the days of this last year that has just passed us by.

Anyone who wants to can openly share their thoughts out loud with the group; or if desired anyone can hold those thoughts silently before God and simply express their thanks to Him, or for the person from whom the source of their thoughts and memories of joy came forth.

We will even be so bold as to take this exercise a little bit further by saying that whenever a person chooses to share their thoughts about their "joy-making" person - they can also do so with little surprises that are unexpected during the week of the feast.

Whenever the receiver notices what is happening; they must claim the new moment of joy and thank God for it to all of the others. If they chose to share the experience with the group; they will receive a "joy" card in honor of this lovely, new moment.

Joy cards can later be posted in scrapbooks or journals of those who have kept them during the many feasts and festivals we have shared over the years. This will make people smile as they remember later; even in years to come.

If your people are anything like the members of my family; I predict this activity will be loads of fun and that it will get VERY creative before the end of the feast arrives.

Another fun way to express your joy to God and to each other is to go somewhere with music and dancing and dance the night away!

No one has to set a clock; so why not enjoy the joy factor to the heights; the feast will be over before we know it and we have all night to make more and more special memories together.

So go on ahead and let out a loud shout for joy!

After all; you ARE at The Feast of Tabernacles; not a soul will discourage you!