Sanctuary can look different for different people or different circumstances. Sometimes we look for sanctuary because we’re thirsty, hungry or in need of healing. In a spiritual desert, we may not know what to expect, who to trust or how our needs will be met. We may be wandering in a wilderness of grief, one where we wake up brokenhearted and go to bed empty because when we look at our family tree, a loved one is missing. Or perhaps we are facing a drought of fear, where we feel God’s urging to put our faith in action, but worry and doubt render us immobile. Or we could be trapped in a valley of bitterness, carrying deep grudges and resentments year after year. Yet even now, Jesus Christ is at work.
When we’re seeking sanctuary, feeling disoriented by confusing times, it helps to know that whenever we go, God’s abiding presence is already there. No place is God-forsaken, no matter how casually we might throw that term around. Jesus promises to go ahead of us, to prepare a place for us. The holy place – now and in the life to come – has love overflowing forever.
This message is excerpted from “Feeling lost?” by Angela !Khabeb in the September/October 2023 Gather magazine.
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