Where do you go to feel the presence of God?

We all have favorite places in this world. Locations that hold special memories or that fill us with awe or happiness. There’s a rocky shore line called Bass Rocks in Gloucester, Massachusetts that I love to visit. Waves crash, and the air is cool and salty. I also have a lifetime of fond memories from my grandmother’s home and land in Leavenworth, Kansas. I remember fishing in the little pond as a child and eating corn grown in the back field.

Places can hold meaning in our hearts, and some of them help draw us closer to God. Our church sanc-tuary may be an obvious example. Maybe you know a place where you can walk and pray or a beautiful vista where you can witness the majesty and goodness of God.
Where do you go to feel the presence of God?

During November, I will preach a three-week series on “Holy Ground.” We’ll read about places where God has revealed Himself in special ways to His people, places where God has spoken and provided, places we still consider blessed because of what God has done there.

First, we will focus on Mt. Sinai, the wilderness summit where God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and later gave the 10 Commandments, written by His own finger on stone tablets. God’s glory burned over that mountain, and His voice echoed down its slopes. It may look barren and desolate, but it was once alive with the manifest presence of God.

Then, we will read about Mt. Moriah, perhaps the most spiritually significant location in all the world. It’s where God provided for Abraham and where 1,000 years later Solomon built the Temple. Today it sits in the middle of Jerusalem, and people still gather there to pray and seek the Lord’s blessing.

Next, we will turn to Jesus’ words and consider the holy places where we meet with God today. Places of prayer. Places of worship. Places where we feel God’s presence and open our hearts to receive His word. Jesus told us to pray in quiet places where God listens to us and “sees what is done in secret” (Matthew 6:6).

We don’t believe that things or places are sacred in and of themselves, but some places have spiritual significance because God meets us there in special ways. God is holy, and He blesses the things He touches. God can make holy a field, a mountain, a building or a closet where you pray. You can find holy ground where you hear God’s voice, where you know His goodness, where you feel the Spirit’s comfort and peace.

As we read these Biblical stories and talk about the amazing things God has done in special places, I hope you will watch with expectation for God’s hand to move in the holy places you know. God is not silent or still. He moves constantly among us and speaks His wisdom into our hearts. If we listen, watch and wait, we will experience His glorious presence.

The truth is, God is the same always and everywhere. The holy ground of scripture and the special places we know help us feel God’s goodness because we go there with expectant, open hearts. May God give us ears to hear and eyes to see His glory everywhere we go.