No, I am not in Israel. In fact, I have already been there and returned (and without blogging one sentence). And I will post pictures and reflections on the places we saw, but right now I’m still processing, and right now, as I long for the intensity of the fellowship with God and with others that I had last week, I need to share about something else. I need to reassure myself, perhaps more than I need to share with you, that wherever I am, God is there, and that wherever I am, He is holy and so that place is holy, too. I’m not saying this to detract from Israel – it is God’s chosen land and His chosen people, and after having been there, I don’t blame Him (though I am personally partial to Texas!). And I know He has plans of returning and ruling in Jerusalem. Jesus’ feet, which once hung humbly on a cross, will touch the Earth again, and when they do, it will be with POWER! And it will be in Israel! I truly believe that, so don’t hear me wrong. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to see it and smell it and feel its heat beneath my feet. Israel is a Holy Land!
But so is the crowded hallway-desk at which I sit:
In Joshua 5:13-15, Joshua has an encounter with “the captain of the Lord’s host” (whom I believe was Jesus Himself – If you’re curious about why, we can talk, but if it’s alright with you, for the sake of brevity, I’m just going to leave it at that. The main reason is because He’s okay with Joshua bowing at His feet and generally angels are not okay with that). Anyway, in this encounter, the Captain says, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” Joshua was in fact in Israel (near Jericho), but I don’t think, at least in this case, that Joshua’s location was all that important. What was important was that the Lord God was there! That made it holy. Well friends, the Lord God is here! Like, right here… and right there (wherever you happen to be). And tonight, though I long to return to the land where Jesus dwelt, I am enjoying being in His presence in this holy hallway of an office. Where are you? If you’ll dare believe (and, quite frankly, even if you won’t), the place where you are standing is holy ground! Since the cross and since our first timid belief in His Lordship, He has dwelt within us. Wherever we walk or sit or lay or leap is holy enough for Him.
I pray you each have a chance to walk where Jesus walked and to see the place that He will one day reign because Israel is a powerful land. But if you don’t, I pray you realize He walks with you. I pray you take some time this week to remove your spiritual sandals and enjoy the holy ground on which you stand!
And because I can’t resist, here’s a picture of Jericho. Perhaps you can catch a glimpse of what was Joshua’s holy land… Just don’t let it detract from your own. Let it add color to the holy land of those who’ve walked ahead.
What does your holy land look like today?
