A Quiet Place
“When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name...”
A place of peace and quiet where the people of Israel might worship their God. You know, I went to Ethiopia with Jill a few years back and we went to see an amazing series of churches. They were built by a king called Lalibela in Ethiopia. They are built of stone and he built them from the top downwards, solid blocks of stone. A king who loved God and he wanted his people to have a safe place for them to worship Him, Jesus.
Solomon knew that God could not be housed in a building.
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!”
1 Kings 8:27
But He wanted a place where His people could worship Him and His presence could be felt by His people.
In Russia, folks have a little building at the bottom of their garden called a poustinia - It is where they go and have their quiet time with the Lord. I also have a quiet time room on the farm where no one can contact me, apart from Jill and my immediate family. You might say: “I don’t have such a luxury.” Maybe you are always on the move - Maybe you are a truck driver or an airline pilot and you just don’t have that place where you can be quiet before the Lord.
Well, before the lockdown arrived in this country, I would fly very extensively all over the world, my second home was an aeroplane. I believe the Holy Spirit showed me that I could have a temple in my mind... A quiet place where I could get away from the noise and the interruptions of this world and speak and worship God. I am not talking about positive thinking, I am talking about the Kingdom of God which is within you - That is what Jesus said in Luke Chapter 17:21.
I will describe it to you. In Zambia, Central Africa there is a place where they buried David Livingstone’s heart, under a tree, when he died and it is the most peaceful place. You walk down a little path and go into a wetland. Huge reeds are blowing gently on both sides of the path, massive indigenous trees flanking the wetland and on the edge of that wetland, there are birds - beautiful African doves singing in the trees. It is so special... That is the place where I sit in a busy airport departure lounge. I just close off for a moment and I just have a quiet time with God and it just refreshes me.
Try it today - Have that quiet time with the Master and He will be there to meet you.
God bless you.