Worship...Make Everywhere Your Sanctuary

Psalm 26:6-8 and 12 -  I wash my hands to declare my innocence. I come to your altar, O LORD,  singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your miracles.  I love your sanctuary, LORD, the place where your glory shines.

I have taken a stand, and I will publicly praise the LORD.

 

One thing David loved was the house of the Lord. He felt near to God …feeling his very presence when he entered the gates. This Psalm may have even been written about the tented tabernacle he constructed for the Ark.  Even though he knew it was not the permanent home of God…he felt a connection here that fed his soul like no other place.

 

We all have our favorite places to worship…even our favorite songs. They help put our minds and hearts in the right attitude…for God to speak deeply to the needs we walk in with….and the sins we have covered up. We share David’s love of the sanctuary where we feel his touch on our heart and he convicts us to be better people for him.

 

There is one advantage we have over David’s time….we carry God’s very sanctuary with us wherever we go. Paul wrote this truth in 1 Corinthians 6:19.  It says… “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.” What an awesome promise…to be able to enter his presence anywhere we go.

 

Maybe that is why I feel a closer connection to God near a river. The rushing water….the pure sound of the water pounding continuously over the rocks…moving constantly toward a new location…calms me…enlightens me…lifts my spirits when I am down. I used to seek the river out when I was a teen…and had a car to drive wherever I wanted.  I would sit and pray…and always felt better when I left.

 

There are also those times that I need the corporate worship of a church family.  There is nothing like a service of collected Christians…with hearts and souls raised in public worship and praise to God. It recharges the tired and weary temple inside me…and gives me energy to continue to do the job God calls me to do each day.

 

That must be how David felt….praying to God in his sanctuary …as close to the Ark as he could go.  He could pray there…and recharge his soul.  He could cry out his needs…he could shout his praise for all he had done…not just for himself… but for all that had been done for the people before him.

 

Thank you God for reminding me this morning that I can worship you anywhere.  Help me to search out new places throughout my day to publicly praise and thank you for all you have done.  Show me how to find the same closeness I feel near a river wherever I go.  I love you Lord…and praise you for loving me…even though I don’t deserve it. Show me how to worship and love you everywhere I go….throughout my day. Amen.