Creating a Sanctuary for the Presence of God
A friend once shared a story with me of going, as an exterminator, to a well-known Christian singer/songwriter’s house. He knocked at the door, and the singer opened it to greet him. At once, my friend was overwhelmed with the warmth, joy, and peace that radiated from the home. He later recounted that it had to be the presence of the Lord.
I am familiar with the songs this artist has written and the influence he has been in my life. My friend confirmed what I hoped was true: he is the same person on the inside as he is at his concerts, at the grocery store, and even greeting the person who was there to kill the bugs in his home. (I still don’t know how those bugs dared to live in a home so filled with the presence of perfection.)
Since then, I have longed for my home to be that kind of sanctuary. I want all who enter to feel at peace, to rest and feel refreshed. I want them to feel at home. Most of all, I want them to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. -- Acts 3:20 (NLT)
I thank the Lord for my home every day and surrender it to Him for His work. But just like guarding our hearts, I must guard the sanctuary of my home. I work to keep out the toxins the world often slips in without notice. The TV shows I watch, the music I listen to, the books I read, and the people I associate with can either add to the sanctuary or, like unchecked dry rot and termites, slowly destroy my refuge.
I cannot ask God to make my home His sanctuary without first asking Him to make my heart be His sanctuary. I know He is always there; He will never leave me or forsake me. But my heart can become a breeding ground for dry rot and an infestation of vermin if I do not, daily, seek His face, confess my sins, and purge my heart of the toxins threatening to make my sanctuary into a swamp.
My mother-in-law lived on this earth 100 years. I had the sacred responsibility of caring for her during the last twenty-two years of her life. Until the day she died, doctors, nurses, caregivers, and ambulance drivers would ask me about her faith or religion. They saw something different in her. I can say with 100% confidence that it was the presence of the Holy Spirit in her life. She was born on the heels of World War I, survived the Spanish flu, lived through the Great Depression, endured the loss of a child, and experienced World War II. Yet she chose to make her heart a sanctuary for the One who was with her always, and it showed.
Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary.
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. -- Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)
Questions for Reflection:
1. How do you see the presence of God in your life?
2. Do you recognize God’s presence in the life of others?
3. What can you do to make your home a sanctuary today?
