Scripture: Psalm 73

It can be hard to see other people cheat and get ahead in life, especially when you are trying to do it God’s way.  It can be frustrating – and eventually it can get to the point where you’ve had enough.  When you get to your boiling point, don’t keep it in…you’ve got to let that stuff out!

The Key to the Sanctuary

The key is, when you have to vent, learn to vent upward.  Take that stuff to God–He’s the only one who can handle it.  The psalmist (the guy who wrote Psalm 73) did that in verse 17; when it got to be too much for him he went “into the sanctuary of God”.  That’s not just the place where God lives, it’s the place where He dwells.  It’s God’s house when He is in it.

A New Perspective on the Wicked

Look at the psalmist: he was so frustrated he couldn’t see straight and was about to take out his frustrations on the young and the innocent.  But when He went into the sanctuary of God he discovered he was wrongly looking at the wicked at the height of their fame, measuring them in the middle of their life journey.  God showed him that they were actually in “slippery places” (v. 18), cast down to destruction (v. 18) and destined for a quick demise (v. 19) because God didn’t like their look (v. 20).  In the sanctuary God gives us a new perspective on those who seem to have it all.  They may be flying high now, but they are actually setting themselves up for a quick fall.  Don’t measure someone’s life by how high they fly, measure it by how well they land!

A True View of Myself

When the psalmist came into the sanctuary, God showed him a different view of himself.   In his heart the psalmist desired the “prosperity” of the wicked.  God showed him that his bitterness blinded him from his true condition.  In the sanctuary God lovingly shows us all about ourselves-the good, the bad and the ugly.  Don’t we get frustrated when others get what we want?  The main difference between the child of God and the wicked is that God is on our side!  If God let us get what the wicked have we would end up going where the wicked are headed.  Thank You Lord for keeping me from my own destruction!

A Greater Appreciation for God

In the sanctuary the psalmist discovered what really matters in life.  The psalmist says that God is continually with Him (v. 23), God will receive him in glory (v. 24), God will be his portion forever (v. 26) and that God will be his refuge (v.28).  What could be better than that?  In the sanctuary God’s presence  changes us so that we value Him more than we did before.  If we keep going into the sanctuary, His presence will eventually change us so that we value Him more than anything else!   Then we will desire nothing the world has to offer (v. 25) and we will tell others about how good God really is (v. 28)!

Finding the Sanctuary of God

If you go to a brick-and-mortar building with a cross on it looking for the sanctuary, you may miss it.  The sanctuary of God is not a building made by man, it’s a spiritual place.  It’s a place you find when you don’t have it all together, when you are confused, upset, unclear, even angry.  Often you find it when you have exhausted every other option and can’t do anything else or go anywhere else.  Usually we find the sanctuary of God when we are at our lowest and our weakest…and that’s not a bad thing!

When we go to the sanctuary, we don’t leave the same as we were when we went in-we are changed, we are transformed.  This must happen because we cannot meet God in His sanctuary and stay the same.  Feeling frustrated?  Confused?  Upset?  Angry?  Are you at the end of your rope?  Are you at your last straw?  Close your eyes.  Turn to God. Tell Him how you really feel.  Confess your sins.  Cry out to Him for help.  You’re at the front door of the sanctuary-open the door, and invite Him in!!!

Those who look for the sanctuary of God rarely find it;
Those who become the sanctuary of God never miss it!