When Iris shared with me the theme for this newsletter, it reminded
me of a time when God taught me about seeking Him and about expectations
in our family. My hope in sharing this is to stir your heart and to expand your
vision of God’s love, faithfulness, provision, and His desire to bless you.
One of the things we celebrate in our family is the Feast of
Tabernacles, one of God’s Feasts from the Old Testament. (See Deuteronomy
16, 31, and 2 Chronicles 8) During this eight-day Feast, the Israelites left the
things of this world to live in booths, and God came to dwell with man. Each
of the Feasts has a pattern that foretold of a fulfillment through Jesus Christ. Passover was perfected
through Jesus Christ and Pentecost through the Holy Spirit. However, Tabernacles has not been fulfilled,
so there is great expectation and excitement in the pattern of this Feast. Because of this, I wanted to make
the time special for our two kids by giving them gifts each day.
I shopped for weeks beforehand, looking for special gifts for them. I was so excited to see their
faces! I gave them notebooks and special pens to take notes during the Feast and hid the rest of the
treasures in a bag. Each day I prayed to determine which gifts I would bring out for them. But, my
excitement turned to disappointment and frustration as God seemed to be answering, “none” day after
day. I continued to encourage the children to pray that God would show them all that He had for them.
After many days of this, I told our children about the gifts and my dilemma.
The last day of the Feast came. I knew God had put it in my heart to give gifts to our children and
that He provided a way to buy them. But, now it was only an hour before sundown when the Feast ended.
The kids asked me about what gifts they would get. I told them to get gift bags from the basement
where they were stored. I still didn’t know what or how many gifts I would be able to give the kids.
Sarah called upstairs, “What size of bag should we bring up?”
“Get the size of bag you want to be blessed with!” I called back.
They brought big bags upstairs, and I filled them with the gifts I had hidden earlier. As my
husband and I watched our kids open and play with the gifts, I saw the wisdom
of how God had worked the whole circumstance for good.
Through this, God showed me a glimpse of His heart and how
disappointed He must feel when we settle for a “little bag,” when He wants to
bless us with a “huge bag” of blessings. He reminded me of this scripture:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us
in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3,
NIV) How often have I had the mentality that I was being humble to only ask
for the little bag of God’s blessings? The enemy and the world cannot steal
those blessings from us, but we can be convinced to give them up.
The conversation with Iris reminded me of what God has done for me.
Through time and the deception of the enemy, I surrendered hope of the big bag of God’s blessing and I
listened to the lies that my destiny is based on my weaknesses. Thank God that: “…He who began a good
work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6, NAS)
God longs so much to give us the gifts He has for us. Jesus died on the cross to make a way that
we can come to Him. “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16, NLT) Even in the midst of
difficult circumstances, we can find joy in what He has done in our lives. Believe for the fullness of all
that God has called you to be and do not measure yourself by others’ gifts and talents. It is God’s
pleasure to give you all He has for you. With humility and confidence, step out boldly in your calling and
live your life to the glory of God.
Blessings~~~Laura Wilder
