Day #243 - Wasted Dwelling

The Presence - A Devotional for living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder

“He has laid waste his dwelling like a garden; he has destroyed his place of meeting. The Lord has made Zion forget her appointed festivals and her Sabbaths; in his fierce anger he has spurned both king and priest. The Lord has rejected his altar and abandoned his sanctuary. He has given the walls of her palaces into the hands of the enemy; they have raised a shout in the house of the Lord as on the day of an appointed festival.”

‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Photo by Tom Pumford on Unsplash

Is there anything worse than a loss in sports to your greatest rival?

There was a saying by Jim McKay on ABC’s the “Wide World of Sports” that captured the intensity of emotion in competition: “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” Victory is so sweet which makes defeat so devastating. I had a sports literature class in college and my teacher said that he believed that each Monday in America you could tell if a city’s NFL team won the day before by the general attitude of people around town. He thought there was something about professional American football that could really effect the moral of a community. Losing and especially losing to a team that you despise the most can feel like a violation.

Lamentations is a short book by Jeremiah. Its a collection of poetry lamenting or mourning God’s judgement of destruction over Jerusalem. In Lamentations 2, Jeremiah describes the loss, destruction and waste as ultimately attributed to “the Presence” leaving Zion and the temple. “God laid waste His dwelling… Destroyed His place of meeting, rejected His altar and abandoned His sanctuary.” Ultimately He “made Zion forget her festivals… and given the enemy… a shout” in the same day the festival was appointed. The very place that was for “the Presence” of God Himself to dwell, He forsook. On top of that, the place to celebrate God was given to their rival, their enemy, to shout and celebrate over them.

We need to grieve the loss of His presence in our lives. If God didn’t show up in our church would we notice it? If God forsakes dwelling with us, meeting with us and being at our altars or in our sanctuary, would it grieve us?

The greatest judgment is the loss of God being us. Our nation is God-forsaken because God rejects our altars. This should move us to tears and repentance. His presence is not optional. If God abandons being with us then the enemy gets a place in our lives. His presence is what brings His blessing and protection. May we attract Him with the posture of our hearts to honor Him and host His presence. If He leaves, may we be humble, broken and desperate that He would return to the place of meeting with us.

Lord if You are not present, I don’t want to go through the motions of church and religion. Our culture and nation feel so God-forsaken. I know that only Your presence makes the difference. In my life, my church and my nation, I pray that You would dwell with us, meet with us, return to the altar, return to the sanctuary and drive the enemy from us that we might celebrate Your goodness. In Jesus name, amen.