Gospel Reflections #474: A Permanent Place of Peace in our Hearts

Lev 23:42,43 42 Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters 43 so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

The distinctive feature of the Feast of the Temporary shelter is the remembrance of God's protection of Israel's safe entry into the Promised Land after their 40-year journey in the wilderness by dwelling in a temporary dwelling.

Our life on earth is also a temporary dwelling.

We may not be able to truly settle down in our temporary dwellings, and our lives may be unstable at all times.

But we may think of our temporary earthly home as our home away from home and live in a relaxed, safe, and stable environment.

When we do this, we tend to immerse ourselves in the pleasures and stability of this world without seeking God.

I feel it is important to have a time like the Feast of the shelter to remember the most difficult times in our lives and to recall how God has been involved and how He has helped us.

Through such things we can be sure that God has never given up on us or forsaken us, and we can be convinced in our own experience of who He is.

This is how God turns our struggles and hardships into joy.

We are travelers in this world and have no safe haven.

In order not to be attached to this earthly place, the Feast of the Temporary Hermitage may be necessary for us as well.

God always guides our hearts to peace, not our environment, and makes our hearts a place of peace between God and us. And when Jesus comes to meet us, the promised place of rest will become our reality.

It will be soon!

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.