"A Portable Sanctuary of the Heart"

Psalm 139

Psalm 139

“You are the one who created my innermost parts;
 you knit me together while I was still in my mother’s womb.  I give thanks to you that I was marvelously set apart.
 Your works are wonderful—I know that very well.”  -Psalm 139:13-14

This Psalm is so powerful because the Psalmist knows that he (or she) belongs to God.  The Psalm conveys a self-confidence, an identity in God, that we long to emulate. 

The practices of prayer and solitude shape us into people who can pray Psalm 139 with full conviction.  Because these practice shape us into people who rest in God, who are nourished by God, who are animated by God.  These are the fruits of solitude and prayer – a deep relationship with God that gives us a deep sense of self and purpose.

Richard Foster describes it as this:

“If we possess inward solitude we do not fear being alone, for we know that we are not alone.  Neither do we fear being with others, for they do not control us.  In the midst of noise and confusion we are settled into a deep inner silence.  Whether alone or among people, we always carry with us a portable sanctuary of the heart.”

We are on a journey this Lent.  And every journey ends somewhere.  What is your destination?  How do you hope you will be different at the end of Lent?  How do you hope you will have grown?  My prayer is that we all come to a deeper awareness of the “portable sanctuary” within us, the privilege to be in God’s presence anywhere, at any time.  

~ Laura Johnson