“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
(Psalm 46:1)
A few days ago during the storm “Ida” created, I was on my way home from work & had a real urge to drop by the church to just sit in the sanctuary & read my Bible & pray, it has to be the most calming place, I really enjoy just sitting there in the quiet.
When I got there it was dark out & just a few people were at the church, none were in the sanctuary which was very dark. As I entered I flipped on a light switch right outside the sanctuary in the hallway just before you go through the door. The light is for our baptistery & it only aluminates the sanctuary slightly, just enough to read by & still hang on to that cozy, quiet, calming feeling. I sat down on the steps of the stage & just talked to God for a little while, when all of a sudden someone turned off the light. I could hear a few people in the hallway, they were headed out & turning off the lights as they went. I thought about turning it back on but there was a little light coming through the stained-glass windows, not enough to read by, but I felt that God wanted me just to “be still”, so I just decided to sit & be quiet…plus I didn’t want to give those ladies who were leaving a heart attack when they didn’t know I was there in the first place.
As I was sitting there I could hear the wind whipping around outside & the heavy rain being blown up against the building, it made me realize God’s true power & how secure I felt inside that sanctuary, even though there was a rough storm going on all around me. I started to find it hard to pray…I didn’t know why, just couldn’t focus on it. But then Psalm 46:10 came to mind…now I didn’t remember that it was Psalm 46 at the time, but I did remember the verse, “Cease striving and know that I am God” or as most of us have heard it, “Be still & know that I am God”. For the next 20 minutes, I just sat there, listening to the storm & God. At that time I understood why God decided that I needed to come to the sanctuary…I needed to seek His protection…to understand that in all the storms of life, He is my sanctuary. That no matter what happens in this world, no matter where I go or what happens to me, if I am in Him, He is my “refuge & strength, a very present help in trouble.” I really needed that time in God’s sanctuary & didn’t even know it…good thing He did.
When I got there it was dark out & just a few people were at the church, none were in the sanctuary which was very dark. As I entered I flipped on a light switch right outside the sanctuary in the hallway just before you go through the door. The light is for our baptistery & it only aluminates the sanctuary slightly, just enough to read by & still hang on to that cozy, quiet, calming feeling. I sat down on the steps of the stage & just talked to God for a little while, when all of a sudden someone turned off the light. I could hear a few people in the hallway, they were headed out & turning off the lights as they went. I thought about turning it back on but there was a little light coming through the stained-glass windows, not enough to read by, but I felt that God wanted me just to “be still”, so I just decided to sit & be quiet…plus I didn’t want to give those ladies who were leaving a heart attack when they didn’t know I was there in the first place.
As I was sitting there I could hear the wind whipping around outside & the heavy rain being blown up against the building, it made me realize God’s true power & how secure I felt inside that sanctuary, even though there was a rough storm going on all around me. I started to find it hard to pray…I didn’t know why, just couldn’t focus on it. But then Psalm 46:10 came to mind…now I didn’t remember that it was Psalm 46 at the time, but I did remember the verse, “Cease striving and know that I am God” or as most of us have heard it, “Be still & know that I am God”. For the next 20 minutes, I just sat there, listening to the storm & God. At that time I understood why God decided that I needed to come to the sanctuary…I needed to seek His protection…to understand that in all the storms of life, He is my sanctuary. That no matter what happens in this world, no matter where I go or what happens to me, if I am in Him, He is my “refuge & strength, a very present help in trouble.” I really needed that time in God’s sanctuary & didn’t even know it…good thing He did.
Vern
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