Wars are raging. Nations are shaking. Uncertainty lurks around every corner.
Yet amid a world increasingly gripped by fear of what tomorrow could bring, Rabbi Kirt Schneider says one of God’s biblical feasts carries a powerful message for believers today: God has not abandoned His people, and He will provide.
In a special message for Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, the Discovering the Jewish Jesus host unpacked why this ancient biblical celebration speaks so directly to the uncertainty facing Christians today.
At the heart of Sukkot is the sukkah, the temporary shelter Jewish people build in remembrance of Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness after leaving Egypt.
Think about what that wilderness actually represented.
Israel had no permanent home. No predictable food supply. No earthly security guaranteeing what tomorrow would look like. Yet day after day, God provided manna and quail. Water came from the rock. And the presence of God remained with His people through the pillar of fire at night and the cloud by day.
“The lesson and the confidence and the comfort that you and I derive from these lessons is that God will provide for His own,” Schneider says.
But Schneider’s message becomes especially timely when he addresses the fear gripping people about what could happen next.
“Fear is an imagination of a future in which God is not present,” he says.
That statement hits differently when headlines are filled with war, geopolitical turmoil and seemingly uncontrollable crises.
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Schneider himself acknowledged reading about conflicts unfolding around the world before delivering his message.
“There’s so many things going on that can make us afraid,” he says.
But Sukkot carries a different message.
The same God who sustained Israel when there was no natural reason to believe their needs would be met is still God today. The wilderness did not mean God had disappeared. In fact, it became the very place where Israel witnessed His supernatural provision.
And there’s another layer.
Sukkot was also a feast of ingathering. Israel celebrated the harvest God had already provided while simultaneously looking ahead for the winter rains that would make another harvest possible.
They were thanking God for yesterday while trusting Him for tomorrow.
Schneider isn’t suggesting believers will never walk through difficulty. Rather, he argues Christians can face those difficulties knowing God will be present and can bring good from what they endure.
That’s where Sukkot becomes more than an ancient celebration. It becomes a challenge for believers today.
When everything around you screams uncertainty, will you allow fear to write the story of your future, or will you remember the God who provided in the wilderness?
The sukkah was temporary. The wilderness was temporary. The uncertainty was temporary.
God’s presence wasn’t.
And whatever tomorrow holds, believers can cling to the same truth Israel discovered thousands of years ago: The God who carried His people through the wilderness is still able to carry His people today.
Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the newly released book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
