In Crisis? Make
God Your Sanctuary
“Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the
countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the
countries where they have gone.’ Ezekiel 11:16(NIV)
We live in troubled times. The fact that
the longer we live, the more troubles we are likely to experience comes as no
surprise. Crisis, disaster, and tragedy are no respecters of persons. Whether
you are young or old, male or female, rich or poor, difficulty does not
discriminate. When trouble comes our way, we can be tempted to think that God
is off in the distance, disinterested in our situation, and that He is leaving us
to fend for ourselves.
One of the most difficult aspects of the
Babylonian captivity for God’s people was not only the strangeness of new
surroundings, but also the sadness that came from being separated from their
land and from their sanctuary. God’s people were feeling alone, isolated, and
without hope. They had experienced the crisis of foreign invasion, they saw the
disaster of their holy temple being destroyed, and they were living through the
tragedy of captivity. We hear their sadness in Psalm 137, where the psalmist
said, “How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a pagan land?” (Psalm
137:4). Also, even though they had repeatedly turned their backs on God, He still
reached out to them in their time of trouble and showed them help and hope.
God promised to be their sanctuary, even
though the physical sanctuary where they worshiped was gone. God was providing
them the opportunity to worship Him, regardless of their whereabouts, because
God would be to them a permanent sanctuary and a place of refuge. God was
promising to be everything to His people that they refused to let Him be when
they had a physical sanctuary made of stone.
God was promising to be a sanctuary that was
never to be dependent on a location or tied to a physical building, but a
sanctuary, constructed out of the inexhaustible Spirit of God, that would abide
with His people wherever they went, God was promising to be a refuge to His
people, their strength in every weakness, their help in every trouble, and
their peace in every storm.
No matter when they needed Him and no matter
where they were located, He would be there for them. Having God as their refuge
did not mean that God would come in and save the day or that He would fix
everything. Rather, having God as a refuge meant that He would work everything
for a greater good.
God, through the Holy Spirit, is a
sanctuary to His people today. As 1 Corinthians 3:16 reminds us, “Do you not
know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
For every crisis, disaster, or tragedy, for every person who feels alone,
isolated, and without hope, God says, “I will be your sanctuary and your place
of refuge, no matter where you are and no matter what you are facing.” God has
made His dwelling place in your heart, and you can take
refuge in Him by the Holy Spirit and through His Word because He is a sanctuary
to His people.
God longs to be our refuge and strength
today. Adversity is inevitable. Crisis is certain. But for those who make God
their sanctuary, He is their help and their hope.
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