Where is God? Not In A Building

“The place you are standing is Holy ground. – God to Moses

[Exodus 3:5]

Wearing my Sunday-best clothing, I could smell the reverence when entering. Tall, ornate ceilings surrounded by stained glass. Organs blaring otherworldly sounds. The creepiness at night, in the darkness. Razor-sharp steeples. The church building was super-spiritual when I was a kid. This was the house of God. A holy building, where a holy God resided.

Sometimes we view God as residing in a physical location—usually a church. Churches and sanctuaries can be beautiful. They can help us focus and reflect. But, there’s a problem in viewing these buildings as the sole place of holiness.

In the Old Testament, the Jewish temple had a special inner sanctuary called the Holy of Holies, that was separated by a veil. This is where the presence of God lived. Only the high priest could cross the veil and enter. Only special people. In special circumstances.

In the New Testament, we see that Jesus has torn the veil. He talks about the concept that we are now the temple of God. God is not in a building. His presence goes with us. No longer is his presence only for special people in special circumstances. Now it is for imperfect people. In all circumstances.

These two phrases from A.W. Tozer have helped me experience the holy moments all around:

Divine Immanence

Divine immanence is the concept that God is present everywhere. He is in every place and situation. He longs to be nearer to us than our own souls. This means that there is nowhere we can hide from his presence. No place we cannot experience a holy moment. The prophet Isaiah says,

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.

Isaiah 6:3

The entire earth, not a piece of it. To experience this though, we need…

Spiritual Receptivity

Spiritual receptivity is being sensitive and aware of the Holy Spirit’s voice—throughout the day. Regardless of where we are or what we are doing, there is an opportunity to commune with the Divine. It’s like we have an antenna. But we have to raise our antenna and tune it to the correct frequency. Henri Nouwen says it like this,

“…our hearts become like quiet cells where God can dwell, wherever we go and whatever we do.” Through the Holy Spirit, “God wants to be as close to us as our breath. God is God-within-us.“

The Only Necessary Thing

Please hear me—I am not against corporate worship gatherings in a physical church. It’s sort of what I do for a living. What gets me excited is, yes, I can experience God here:

But also here:

And here:

Even here:

Where is God? He’s not in a building. He is everywhere. The place you are standing—wherever that is—is holy ground.

Here are some things that help me tune my antenna to the holy moments all around:

• Keeping a journal [observing and capturing the sweetness of life.]
• Meditating or practicing solitude [this conditions your mind and body to pay attention to the whispers of God’s spirit]
• Fighting the need to be constantly entertained or distracted [allow your mind to feel the space of a moment]
• Taking a walk. [look around, breathe, be thankful to be alive]