Sanctuary

Last week I heard a song on the radio that I hadn’t heard in awhile.  It’s contemporary Christian, upbeat and easy to listen to and then out of nowhere BAM! the music hit my spirit.  The line that played over and over began to work deep into my mind and heart. “How do I sense this tide that’s rising desensitizing me to living in the light of eternity?”  (Lose My Soul; Tobymac)

We all struggle with that I think.  When does the stuff of this world become a hindrance and a barrier to the Christian life of faith and growth?  I don’t think having a nice home and working vehicles and a good computer and matching appliances and . . . . hinders us in our walk with Christ.  I don’t think hearing the news or keeping up with our friends and families on Facebook and text is damaging to the purpose of God.  Paul said all things are good to the Christian but all things are not critically necessary.  He spoke of not being ruled by any of it.  Yeah, that becomes the struggle, the battle ground of pride and distraction.  How do we sense the tide that’s rising?  How do we keep ourselves unspotted from the World?

This morning –as God often does with me- he brought the questions together with an answer during my 'Papa' time.  It’s not an end-all answer, but it’s His answer to what I have been struggling in and so I will share it.

He took me to Psalm 73.  This is a passage I have deeply embedded in my psyche.  I could probably quote most of it and yet....  Ah the ‘and yet!’ This morning, he said to me:”Don’t stop short, Donna.”  I kept reading until the passage hit my questions and then I knew it’s purpose was ‘doctrine, reproof and instruction in righteousness.’  I needed to hear and He began to speak.

I have always centered on the struggle for a pure heart when I read this.  I have seen the disappointment and even bitterness of the author as a personal struggle.  I don’t know that I envy the evil and arrogant, but their prosperity and arrogance has made me feel like the world was slippery.  The world makes us see a different measure: the prosperity of the wicked and it is overwhelming when we try so hard to live in integrity and godliness. (verse 3)  And so understanding the description of the godless prosperity (verses 4-12) we come to the pity party in verse 13 and 14.  We feel that striving for a pure heart and clean hands in innocent conduct is unprofitable.  Then, with the psalmist, we recognize that giving voice to these things is counter productive to the Kingdom of God and the inner churning begins like a wound that has scabbed over but is still infected on the inside “till I entered the sanctuary of God and understood their final destiny.”

It was at this point that God spoke into my reading and said “you have the wrong focus!”  What?  So I began a search for meaning –literally.  I looked up the definition of ‘sanctuary.’  What I found led me to believe that it is no accident that the Psalmist began the restorative portion of the passage with ‘sanctuary of God and ended it with ‘Sovereign Lord, my sanctuary.’

Sanctuary is a place of safety, rest, recovery.  It is a place where the innocence and the accidental can be worked out.  Sanctuary is a place of protection for the unwanted, the vulnerable, the stray. Sanctuary is a place of interaction with the God of the universe by the virtue of his goodness, holiness and perfection not by our own.  My mind was picking up speed.

At one point when I was struggling with the what ifs and human reasoning, God spoke softly from an unexpected perspective: “They don’t put rabid dogs in shelters, Donna.”  Sanctuary is not made to protect evil from its eventual end and allow it to grow and flourish.

This week after the awesome celebration of the completed work of Christ on the cross I have been keenly aware of the fact that he did not surrender his life until all was finished, I began through this passage to see that Jesus is our sanctuary if our trust is in Him.  This is a sanctuary that moves and breathes, always positioned for our good. It was created by the obedience of Christ and the intervention of the Father. The psalmist declared “My heart was grieved; my spirit was bitter, senseless and ignorant.  I was a destructive, dumb animal before you.” But then he recognized the covering presence of God who “hold’s my hand, guides me with his counsel, and will take me to the place he has prepared in his glory.” “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (verse 26)

So to the question ‘How do I sense the tide that’s rising - desensitizing me to living in the light of eternity?’ the answer is found in sanctuary –time with the Father’s hand, counsel, purpose and hope of his promised reward. It was provided by Jesus.  It is maintained by Jesus.  It is a place where we are at rest, we find restoration and the counsel for life until he takes us home with him. 

It’s right there all the time.  We just need to recognize it and to step inside.