Giving Thanks for Where We Lay Our Heads
One of my favorite prayers to pray for myself, my family, and my ministry family is found in Colossians 1:9–14. It conveys the fullness of God that is available to us through our continual surrender to His Lordship.
With the Festival of Booths, or Sukkot, beginning September 25, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. and continuing through October 2, 2026, at 6:00 p.m., I sensed God instructing me to begin participating in the spirit of the biblical Jewish festivals. This invitation required me to revisit their details and significance, not only for the Jewish community, but also to consider what they may reveal to those of us who are part of a Holy Spirit-filled community.
John 4:23–24 NKJV
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
This is that hour.
Our worship becomes fuller every day as we learn to live through Christ Jesus. Honoring God's desire that we worship Him in spirit and truth invites us to recognize the biblical festivals with greater understanding and allows them to draw us deeper into His Spirit and truth.
The biblical significance of the Festival of Booths, or Sukkot, is rooted in Israel's wilderness journey after being delivered from Egypt. The festival calls Israel to remember how God sustained, protected, and provided for His people as they lived in temporary dwellings during their journey through the wilderness.
There were no permanent homes or established settlements for Israel during that journey. Yet, even while they lived in temporary shelters, they were not without the presence, provision, and care of God.
They did not have permanent houses, but they had God's covering.
That thought has caused me to pause and give thanks.
Looking again at Colossians 1:12–13, I see Paul placing thanksgiving at the center of our understanding of what we have received in Christ. We are made “partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” We have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son.
Colossians 1:12–13 NKJV
“Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”
For me, this creates a beautiful connection to the spiritual significance I see in participating in the Festival of Booths.
Sukkot gives us an opportunity to remember God's faithfulness to Israel in the wilderness. The God who delivered them, sustained them, protected them, and provided a place for them to dwell.
And as believers in Christ, we can look at that story through the fullness of what we have received in Him.
We have been delivered from the power of darkness. We have been brought out of bondage. We have been sustained through the wilderness. And we have been brought into the kingdom of God's beloved Son.
The wilderness was not the destination, but God's presence was with them there.
The temporary dwelling was not their permanent home, but God's provision was present there. And this is where my heart settles.
I can give thanks for where I lay my head because my security has never ultimately been found in the structure over me, but in the God who covers me.
Whether the dwelling is temporary or permanent, whether the season feels like wilderness or promise, God remains faithful.
So, as I participate in Sukkot, I am allowing the biblical story to awaken gratitude within me.
I am remembering the God who makes a way through wilderness places.
I am remembering the God who provides when there is no permanent structure.
I am remembering the God who delivers us from darkness and brings us into the kingdom of His beloved Son.
And I am giving thanks, not simply for where I live, but for the One in whom I live, move, and have my being.
I am thankful for where I lay my head because I am covered by the One who never leaves me.
