What Is Your Sanctuary?

Ezekiel 11:16

“Therefore day: ‘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.’”

Men have man caves, and women have she sheds. Boys have playhouses, and girls have magical kingdoms. We all seem to have that place we call home base, like in the game of hide and seek. We go out and hide, then slowly make our way back to home base, where we’re safe from being tagged by the one who is “it.” It’s the place where the struggles of the game stop, and the worries we drag with us fade away. “Calgon, take me away,” remember that?

The Israelites had a safe place they called home base, the temple in Jerusalem. As long as the priests were in the temple doing priestly things, Israel seemed to be in favor with the Lord God, and He would protect them from outsiders. But you know the story, they brought in all kinds of foreign gods and idols, which the Lord did not like. They did this for so long that the Lord finally chose to scatter them to teach them a lesson about who is God and what is a man-made idol.

Verse 16 informs us what the Lord was thinking while all of God’s people were in exile. He said, “I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” Your life may be in that same spot. Away from home, with your family only a phone call away, and sometimes that’s just not enough. You may be looking up and realizing you’re in a place where nothing is familiar, and you feel like a fish out of water. You took a job and now feel in way over your head. Or maybe your friends have all left you because of your Christian stance. This verse is for you!

The Lord is your sanctuary, no matter where you are or what you’re doing. He is the one with you in the valley of the shadow of death. He is the one with His wings stretched out to protect you. He is the one who causes you to prosper in the craziest places, after you’ve exhausted your efforts. He is your sanctuary. Your job is not your sanctuary. Your husband, siblings, or boyfriend are not your sanctuary. The Lord God is telling you to believe in Him and rest in Him above all things. If you don’t know what that looks like, then you haven’t spent enough time reading your Bible. It describes how to get close enough to the Lord to recognize Him and His presence. Calgon can take away the moment, you can spend an hour in your cave, but real rest and assurance, the kind that gives us peace beyond understanding, comes only from the Lord. Get to know Him.

Prayer: Father, I pray that I get to know You more every day. I pray that You become my sanctuary and assurance. I lay aside all the idols I have erected before You in fear. I cast away all the sin and doubt that seem to creep in when times are tough. I press into You, Lord, and lay every crown of achievement before You. I bow my knee and praise You. Father, be my place of peace. In Jesus’ name, amen.