Thursday, January 28, 2021
There is a river whose streams make glad the
city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of
her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. Psalms 46:4-5
Sanctuary
Do
you ever just want to bury your head under the covers and ignore everything
that is going on in your life? Problems come, sometimes like bullets fast and
hard, leaving gaping holes in our souls. Often, we don’t have time to even process one thing when something else
comes piling down on top – especially in the last year. Trying to solve our problems when we don’t
have any resources or hope of help will only add to our feelings of anxiety and
sadness. It makes us feel more out of control, and more hopeless, which sends
us spiraling further down into irrational thoughts, feelings, and fear. It is
more than we can deal with, so we just don’t, but this doesn’t solve anything
and is not healthy because it just continues to pile up. Whether it is just too
painful to deal with, or you are afraid, our Heavenly Father offers us a
beautiful, peaceful sanctuary in His very presence that gives us so much more
peace than hiding under the covers.
The devil always wants to take our focus off God
and create unrest in our souls. If he can create unrest in our
souls, then he knows that we likely will start looking around for something to
make us feel better. The things that we turn to can quickly become idols and/or
addictions in our lives. Living in fear or circumstances that are too difficult
for us to deal with can cause us to turn to other things besides God to numb
our pain or fear. What happens then? They turn into bigger problems which
then heap fear and sorrow onto what we are already not dealing with.
I have found that sitting in the quiet with God early in
the morning has done wonders for my heart. Sometimes I don’t pray because many
times I don’t even know what to say, but God know my heart, and He knows yours
too. Sometimes my heart is so heavy, I
can’t put it in words. This silent, still time helps me to get my focus back on
God, and HIS TRUTH where it belongs. God’s truth is truly where we can find
freedom from everything – pain, worry, anxiety, fear. If we try to find freedom
on our own, we will never find it. The world doesn’t have it either, regardless
of how hard Satan tries to persuade us it does.
The Peaceful, Flowing Presence of God
God’s
presence in our lives is the only thing that can provide us with the peace we
so desperately need. His presence flows continuously and never runs out. He
will not abandon us or leave us, even when we feel He is not there. That is
where we trust what we know and not what we feel. We know God’s word is true
and He says He will never leave us and that His presence will always be with
us.
No one understands our heart like our Heavenly Father. No
one understands the pain, anxiousness, sorrow, worry, or fear that we
experience like He does. Most of all, no one cares about us or loves us more than He does. There is no better place for us to go for comfort than
to Him. In His presence there is a sanctuary where we can sit quietly, talk to Him
and tell Him everything that makes our heart hurt, and leave it with Him. He is
so capable, and He has everything we need.
Take a seat by the river. Take refuge in the shadow of His
wings. Feast on His abundance, and rest in His truth – that He will take your sadness, problems, anger, fear, etc., and give you the help and peace you need.
How priceless is your unfailing
love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the
abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For
with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Psalm 36:7-9
