Remembering We are the Temple

“I will raise my eyes to the mountains; From where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.He will not allow your foot to slip; He who watches over you will not slumber. Behold, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your protector; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not beat down on you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time and forever.” (Psalm 121, NASB)

There have been three separate times where I’ve witnessed nature and felt simultaneously so small and powerless against the greatness of God’s creation, and comforted with the fact that thesame Mastermind of this same landscape thought that I was important enough to include in His design.

The first was at the foot of the colossal horseshoe at the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. The second was stepping out of the airport in Cape Town to see the three mountain peaks that makeup that city’s skyline: Devil’s Peak, Table Mountain, and Lion’s Head. The third was this weekend, from the Fred W. Symmes Chapel in Camp Greenville, South Carolina.

If you haven’t heard of this unique chapel, you should take a look at some photos. This little hideaway is a chapel that was built 3,000 feet above sea level atop a mountain peak and the front end of the chapel is completely open air, save for a cross at the very front. Needless to say, the view is one of the most incredible things I have ever seen, and since the chapel faces due east, it’s the perfect place to watch the sun rise over South Carolina. 

Which is precisely what Sam and I did this weekend, getting up at 5:30 am to catch a 7:30 sunrise. And when we finally got there, there were definitely more people than we anticipated, but the sight was more wonderful than I could have imagined. We watched the sunrise over hills and mountains, dissipating the early morning fog that rested in the valleys. The sky went from dusty blue to vivid orange and yellow, into the bright blue of morning. Truly, only a master artist could have made a landscape so perfect. 

Over the cross, written on one of the rafters, was the beginning of the psalm I’ve left for you today: “I will lift my eyes to the hills…” I know, from your kitchen, your office, your living room– wherever you’re reading this right now– but for me, it was one of those moments where scripture came alive in technicolor, right in front of my eyes. 

This psalm, labelled a song of ascents, would have been sung by Hebrew pilgrims on their way to either Mount Zion or or the steps of the Temple in Jerusalem. It would have been sung looking out over a similar landscape to the one at the Pretty Place Chapel I went to this weekend. It would have been sung to raise the spirits of the Israelites and put them in the mindset to meet with the Lord. 

Today, we live in a time where we don’t have to go to the top of a mountain or a temple to be with Jesus; nor do we have to be Jewish in order to belong to God. The fact of the matter is that the beauty of a mountaintop chapel with sweeping views of God’s creation, the majesty of a temple so beautiful, is found within our hearts. That level of beauty and reverence we feel for God when we look upon creation so perfect, only God could have crafted it, is the same level of beauty that God looks upon us with. 

And the God who brought a landscape like that out of His mind into being, is the same God who helps us when we are in the midst of our trials. Indeed, God never promised us that we wouldn’t have trials, but He is a God that is with us when we walk through them. He never sleeps on us. He watches over us and gives us the footholds we need to make it through our struggles. He protects us and never turns His face from us.

Most importantly, He keeps our souls, holding them in His steady, gentle hands, protecting us from the evil snares of the devil. He knows your every day, from the moment you’re born, until the second you take your last breath. Nothing is a surprise to Him. And He loves you so intensely that He made your heart into the holy ground He could inhabit and dwell in. 

So you don’t have to go up a mountain with a sacrifice on your back to atone for your sins and be with God. Jesus already covered you in His blood. The sacrifice was already made on your behalf. And under that blood, you have been made into the mountaintop, the temple instead. And you know what? God thinks that’s just as beautiful as the sweeping views of any vista you can find.

So here’s my challenge for you this morning: Go and find your favorite beautiful place where you can get alone with God. Maybe it’s a beach, a local park, or your own garden in your backyard. Sometimes, as humans in our own busy schedule, we need to physically put ourselves in a different location in order to get ourselves to focus long enough on Jesus. Once you’re there, sing your favorite worship song and spend some time praying. 

Afterwards, take in your surroundings and let God speak to your heart. Give yourself a moment to sit in this awesome encouragement: Your help comes from the same God who could make such a special place. He pulled that very spot out of His own mind, and still didn’t think it was done until He put you inside it.