Sanctuary in the Midst of Chaos

As I write, I am a place that for many it is a sanctuary; for others a source of anxiety. My husband and I are in the mountains of North Carolina going to freshman orientation with our oldest son. As I heard many parents ask questions yesterday, I could hear the fear in their voices. What if my child makes bad decisions? What if they head down a wrong path?

It is times like these, when things truly are beyond our control, that God longs to become the sanctuary that we truly need. For me, that means pulling myself away to a quiet place where I can refocus swirling emotions back to the solid ground of the truth of His word.

In this case, the truth is that the word of God that has been poured into my son will not return void. The truth is that this young man has been raised up in the way that he should go and I have to trust the Lord that in the end he will not depart from it. I have to trust that the good work that Jesus has started in my son’s heart will be completed by his savior.

God’s Word when I read it out loud or hear it set to music, quiets my heart and puts my focus and perspective back on the Lord of it all and the one who quiets the chaos.

How do you position yourself in the Lord’s sanctuary even when things are not perfect around you? We would love to hear from you!

Lynn

10 Comments

  1. It seems life is always throwing situations at us that are beyond our control. We may be dealing with unemployment, again, of the main income earner in our family. It has been less than a year since he was re-employed and we haven't dug ourselves out of the financial hole we got into when he was unemployed last year.

    I am so thankful that the first place I ran yesterday was into the arms of my Jesus. He is my sanctuary, and in Him I find my peace.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Thank you for the devotional.
    I know from experience there is no better place then in Jesus arms. That is one reason I love taking walks and talking to the Lord. I am so glad I can ask Him to hold me, to put His loving arms around me when I feel like everything around me is going down and out of control. I have a loving Father who holds me when I ask Him and He comforts me if I allow Him.

  3. Interesting & timely, just coming from a 3 day retreat on the theme of Being still, cultivating silence & listening, stealing away with Him…How amazing that the Lord of heaven & earth should desire to be with me! But His word assures us that we can indeed climb into His lap & be held & comforted & strengthened. He is a safe refuge; He knows what we face, understands how we feel, loves when we trust in His provision, protection & guidance. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face & the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glorious grace!

  4. Anonymous says:

    Thank you so much for your devotional today. It was right on time. Most of my life, I have turned to food to comfort me and to help me escape life's challenges. Just this morning, prior to reading your thoughts, I prayed for help with this issue – not to turn power and control over to a chocolate cookie. Praise God! He sent you to remind me that He is the true comfort.

    In the past, I have had some success in managing my weight and I found that at that there was a "moment of escape". If I chose to heed at that moment and pray, I was victorious, but I if I noticed the moment, but charged through it, I failed.

    So, today, I am going to wait for those promised moments, stop, pray and turn away! The thing I love about God are His mercies and the opportunity to be a better me are new every morning!

  5. It's important that we wait for the wave of emotions to past. It becomes easily tempting to make rash decisions in the midst of an emotional flood, but we must understand that God brings no anxiety. Therefore, in order to enter God's sanctuary we must quiet our emotions, as well as, our thoughts and let God speak to our heart. When we do this, He reassures us that His promises are still relevant, even during times of turbulence.

  6. My son is getting married in 4 days (to a wonderful Christian girl) and we are trying to finish a bunch of projects before the wedding. This morning I had a complete breakdown. Crying, throwing cups. It wasn't pretty. I wanted to get in the car and just drive away. I cleaned the fridge instead. I am in such conflict with myself. Telling myself it doesn't matter if this or that gets done, in 20 years it won't matter. It is so hard to fight against my nature. Isn't God timely in how He speaks to us. I am so thankful that you were lead by the Spirit to write this encouragement for today and that you followed Him. Thank you for reminding me where to run to, not just away from the stresses but to run to the arms of my Father.

  7. Thank so much to all of you for sharing. When I get stressed, I can tend to want to grab a snack or yell at those closest to me. May we all continue to grow into maturity as we run to Him!

    I am exhausted right now; just can't bear to learn one more thing about college life! Time to rest…
    His,
    Lynn

  8. life is crazy! i find my self thinking a 100 times a day that i should take 10 minutes and get in the word but then the phone rings or a kid screams and i am already late for an appt ughh i find i spend my drive time with god we talk and i sing and sometimes cry i guess you have to grab every moment that you can to "fill up" for the rest of the day

  9. Thank you, Nikki D. for your insightful and helpful advice about getting past the heat of the emotions first. I really have the tendency to overreact due to the high emotional level I'm at. Thanks for reminding me to wait and let the feelings calm down first, clear my head and open my heart before I seek the Lord's sanctuary. It really helps the situation (and my family is much safer and happier). It is hard to reach that "quiet place" – that's what I feel a sanctuary is – when at home with 3 kids and tons of pets and remodeling going on! But, I make it a point to start my mornings and end my days with Jesus. Sometimes I need to remind myself to invite him to lunch once in awhile, too!
    Thanks Lynn & Nikki!

  10. Enjoyed your sanctuary devo. Love when God repeats a word in my life that lines up with HIS Word.

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