"The Sanctuary"

The Sanctuary

“Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.”  Psalm 134:2

The word, ‘Sanctuary’ means a place of refuge, or safety.  It also can mean ‘a sacred place’.   The word ‘sanctuary’ is mentioned 434 times in the Bible.  We also refer to the place of worship in a church as the Sanctuary.

What is the importance of this word to be so freely used?  In fact, today we have ‘bird sanctuaries; there are places of Political Sanctuary. There are sanctuaries all around us, but these places of safety may be right in front of your eyes and you just don’t see them.

About eight years ago we moved out in the country and because I love bushes and flowers we planted many things.  One of them was a different kind of lilac bush.  Lilacs are my very favorite flower and wanted it planted where I could see it.  So we planted it by the back deck.  Never did we expect that bush to grow as large as it is.  It appears to be growing into a tree.  My husband put up his bird feeders nearby because we love watching the variety of birds that come to feed.  I looked out one day and he was standing by the bird feeder petting a small yellow finch that just set there.  The bird looked at him but went back to eating while he was being petted. He felt safe in his sanctuary.

The birds come to eat, but it appears they love to sit on the branches of that big lilac bush.  At times we have as many as 20 to 30 birds at one time.  We have everything from big mourning doves to tiny humming birds and everything in between.  This morning as I sat at my table looking out the slider and watching the birds, I realized that we have our own sanctuary. The birds have water and food and protection of the lilac bush. It is a place of refuge for them.

In Old Testament times God directed the Israelites to build a sanctuary in the desert.  It was there that God met his people and gave directions for their lives.  King David had a place of worship and he wrote this psalm about it, “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.”   The Sanctuary became not only a refuge, but it was the place to worship God.

Every Christian needs a sanctuary where they can meet God.  We can pray anytime, anywhere, but it’s not a sanctuary. When King David wrote that Psalm, he explained exactly what we need to do.  We need to lift up our hands and praise the Lord in a place where we have the freedom to do that.  It isn’t always at church, although we should worship Him in church, but it can be out in the woods or on a quiet walk.  It can even be in your home if you have a place of no distraction.  For me, my sanctuary is my home office where I can close the door and put on some quiet worship music.  That’s the place where I get my inspiration to write and worship my heavenly Father.

Our church’s sanctuary is often where I feel God’s Holy Spirit moving. I don’t raise my hands just because it’s the thing to do, but I lift up my hands and praise God because he loves me and I want to love Him back.  Sometimes I feel nothing, but God still deserves my praise for how He watches over me and all my loved ones.  I feel safe in the Sanctuary because we are all believers and believers care about one another.  At times People are healed there, but they are not all physical healings. Healings can also be for mental illness, deep spiritual needs, and for the broken hearted.  More often than not we need to have our hearts healed by a loving God.

Perhaps you feel God has not answered your prayers, but that doesn’t mean that he has failed you; it means He knows what the best thing in the long run for all of us.   I love the scripture in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  It has proved true to me so many times and reminds me that if I am patient and trust God, He will take care of it.

Yes, I will raise my hands in the Sanctuary and I will bless the Lord with my praises and thanksgiving whether I feel it or not.  Some think we have a lot of emotional things going on in our church and don’t like it; could it be that you don’t have a good relationship with God?  You say you love God, but love is more than a word; love is and action. Show God you love Him – that’s why we “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.”   Try it sometime, God loves your praise.

Shiloh Tabernacle Fellowship