Finding God In The Wild

I heard a sermon last weekend at First Baptist Church Euless by John Meador, and it hasn't really left my mind all week. We talked about the Old Testament tabernacle and the many meticulous procedures that had to take place in order to hear from God. I'll just briefly summarize here for anyone not familiar. Click here for the full sermon.

The tabernacle is also referred to as the "Tent of Meeting". This is vital to the big conclusion I took away. It's important to realize that there were tons of rules and instructions to follow in order to ensure that God's glory would fill the tabernacle. Each furnishing in the tabernacle had its own purpose and place. These are just a few of the furnishings:

Altar of Burnt Offering - a sacrificial offering had to be burned just outside the Tabernacle
Laver - this contained water to cleanse your hands before entering the Tabernacle
Altar of Incense - burned fragrant offerings to the Lord
Lampstand - provided light for the entire holy place
Table of Presence - table of bread for each tribe of Israel that symbolized that God would provide
Ark of the Covenant - contained the tablet of commandments, manna, and Aaron's rod that budded

Each of these furnishings were used in a very detailed procedure that had to be carefully followed in order to meet with God. In fact, the high priest, who was the only one allowed in the holy of holies (where the ark was kept), actually tied a rope to his foot before entering and wore bells so the others would know if he was still alive...in case the process wasn't pleasing to God.

All this effort just to meet with God. Wow. Now, here's where the significance of Jesus comes in for me. Since I have accepted Christ in my life, I have a perfect intercessor (someone to go before God on my behalf). Why does that matter? Because I'm not perfect and fall short of what God expects from me. Jesus doesn't fall short, and because he lived a life without sin and died on the cross, he fulfills the sacrifice that God requires.

The beauty of all this...I don't have to go through all the preparation and nonsense the Israelites of the Old Testament did in order to meet with God. I have a free gift through Jesus to meet with God anytime and anywhere!

To me, this is amazing. It explains so much. I never understood it before, but I have the freedom to worship God while I'm biking, trail running, or whatever I'm doing. I know this is true for me because when I consider my most intense encounters with God, not one of them has been in a church. I love having the privilege of finding God while I'm doing the things that I love. I think God designed it that way intentionally. So, what do you love? See if you can find God next time you're doing it. Seriously, give it a try.

Have you ever seen Remember The Titans? Well, there's a scene from that movie that I often quote and will never forget. Denzel Washington steps out on the football field one night and the lights are on, the grass is freshly mowed, and he says, "This is my sanctuary." It's because of what Jesus did for all of us on the cross that I can say the same thing 75 miles into a bike ride or 13 miles into an early morning run.

Leave a comment below...what is your "sanctuary"?