Sanctuary

I had walked with Jamie to drop Sam off in the nursery at bible study and had forgotten something that I had left in my car so I told her to go on and I would catch up with her later. As I was walking back to the building, I noticed the written sign above the side entrance door that read Sanctuary. I had walked through this door many a time because after having three children who attended Second Baptist, there were several events that were held in the Sanctuary. But I had never noticed the sign. Maybe my head was down, or I was talking, or just not paying attention. I was alone on the walkway when I saw it, and for some reason it just hit me, the sanctuary, a save haven for all who enter.

This time I was going to bible study, but there have been other times when I have been going to a funeral or a wedding or a program for my kids, or to hear a special speaker in this same spot. And each time, I have been there, it was a true acclimation that God was in that very room. God is everywhere, always, I know but aren't there times when you can truly feel his presence in such a way that you feel that safety, that security, that protective wave of the Holy Spirit.

These past weeks, I have been blessed greatly by the teachings of Pam, my bible study teacher. But one of the points that she seems to make over and over again is that God is with us, God wants to carry us, and all our burdens and anxieties, and share in our joys. As I was thinking about the sanctuary, I couldn't help but come once again to the realization that whenever I allow Christ the very spot that he has requested, to be my partner of all my moments, there is where my sanctuary is. I don't have to be in a building to be comforted by his word, or by the teachings of others, though it is much desired and appreciated, I just have to be still for a minute and seek him and there will I be able to recognize his very presence.

Oh, aren't there times when you feel isolated and that no one understands, and that you are in the middle of a adverse situation that seems to have no bounds and no sign of resolution. I have been there and I want to run to a sanctuary of safety. Someplace where I know I can be sheltered by the worries and the shattered dreams, and the confusion of what to do next. That someplace is really a someone. For deep within our hearts, Christ generates a sanctuary of safety through his word.

We know his promises, we have learned of his faithfulness and he had made available a sanctuary of retreat to all of us who call on him. That sanctuary lives within me and in you. It is the room of peace, God's peace. It is the sound and grounded place where Christ lives and the place we can go to retreat from the pressures that are rising about us, and be calmed by his spirit of authority over all things. God is in charge of all things, and there is nothing that comes to us that he has not allowed or permitted first. And whatever it is that concerns you or me, be it grand or small, it also concerns God.

It is in his sanctuary that we are safe to unpack our burdens, and breathe in the goodness that abides through his love. But all too often we pass that room by and muddle through clamoring chaos and discontent. We fall short of embracing that which has given us and standing on God's word that he will make our life adjustments according to his will and his purposes....for his glory and our best.

In the old testament you may remember the curtain in the tabernacle, where only the high priests were able to enter behind the curtain and pray to God on behalf of the people. The curtain was torn from top to bottom at the death of Christ, thus allowing entrance to all of us to now go to Christ personally with our requests and needs. His sanctuary now lies within each of us. No provisions or conditions to call upon him for help, Christ stands in the presence of God on our behalf.

Hebrews 6:19
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuarybehind the curtain,

It was just a plain ole sign hanging above a door, but God can even work that kind of ordinary into our hearts for a reminder that he is present, he is available, he is approachable, and he is engaged in each of our lives. When we invite the Lord to be an active part of our lives, the sanctuary within us becomes his dwelling place. Blessed are we who know the way to his safe room, and go there often.

Dear Lord, It was just a sign, but it was a sign to me that reminded me of the place within my heart that you dwell. Thank you for the personal sanctuary that you have established for me through your loving faithfulness, and my deepened trust. Amen