“But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20, NIV)

No matter what we think or believe, there are certain realities we cannot change. We can live in a world in which we want to claim that there are no absolutes, and everyone is free to think and believe whatever they want, but that will not change the fact that there are absolutes we will be held accountable to. For example, I can think and believe all I want that there is no such thing as an absolute called the “law of gravity.” I can philosophically think of a world in which that law doesn’t exist. I can proclaim to others that this thing we call the “law of gravity” is just a figment of our imagination. But the moment I want to prove that the law (absolutely) doesn’t exist, and I go to the top of a building and jump off, the absolute law of gravity will prove me wrong.

The people of Israel were living as though God did not exist. They were going about their lives thinking, believing, and acting in any way they saw fit, but this did not change the fact that “the Lord is in His holy temple.” The psalmist says, “Why do the people plot in vain?” The context of that verse is God wondering to Himself why we tend to plot and conspire as though He doesn’t see and know what we are up to. It might do us all good to consider that the God of the universe is seated on His throne, and that we should be silent before Him — just like accepting the fact that the law of gravity does exist and realizing that my life might be better if I quietly accepted that fact. It would be good for us to quietly consider/remember that the Lord is there.

By recognizing the absolute existence of a holy God, we allow ourselves to see that there is something greater than ourselves governing the world we live in. Then we begin to relate to the psalmist who says “Unless the Lord builds the house, you labor in vain.” With the absolute existence of God comes absolute principles He places upon and within His creation. We would do well to get connected to those principles. By doing so, we may improve our life’s direction.

Today, let’s be silent for a few moments and listen to what God has to say to our hearts.

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church