text: "The LORD is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silent before him."
  In my search for sanctuary, I started with the physical aspects of time and space. You know, the things we all think we need more of. However, sanctuary does not necessarily start with time and place. Before there was time, and before space was created, sanctuary existed in the spiritual realm. It would be careless of me to study the physical, and ignore the spiritual aspects of one's sanctuary.
  For some people, their sanctuary is the place they go to get away from it all. Others seek sanctuary so they can process it all. But there are some of us who think of the sanctuary as the place where we most sense God. It is where we go to hear from heaven.
  For as long as man has existed, we have searched for ways to engage the divine. We have searched the stars only to find that the heavens cannot contain His glory. We have searched the heights of the mountains and the depths of the sea, only to find that our finite minds cannot fathom His infinite deity.
  In ancient Israel, the people believed that there was a place where man met with God. There God would reveal his wisdom to his priests as they sat in the holy place.
  New Testament believers have a different idea about what sanctuary is. Yes we still meet in physical buildings to receive God's word. Yes there are still sacred places where only certain people are allowed to go, sacred things that not everyone can touch. But we also believe that spiritual sanctuary is available to all.
  As a good southern Baptist girl, I believe that at the time of conversion, I was indwelt with the Holy Spirit. That means, upon acceptance of the Savior, the spirit of the Living God lives inside me. Therefore, if Sanctuary is the place that God resides, then I am a sanctuary.
  Don't get me wrong. There are times that I cannot hear the still small voice of God because of all the other things screaming for my attention. There are times that I, a living breathing sanctuary, want to be far less than holy. But i am also reminded in times like those that I serve an ever-present God. Sometimes it soothes my soul, emphasis on sometimes!
  On my worst days, when the kids are acting up, when work is rough, and the house is a mess; on the days when I need sanctuary the most, I try my hardest to remember that even if there is no time or space to get away, that Sanctuary is never about what I'm doing or where I am. Sanctuary is about where God is. And God is here.