Because I Need a Gatekeeper Too

Two hundred and twelve Levites were chosen to guard the temple.

As gatekeepers,

they monitored who entered the temple and who left it,

protecting it at night

and opening it every morning.

From the north, south, east, and west,

the temple was secure.

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It’s Monday morning,

the sun is already brightly shining outside my kitchen windows.

In less than an hour I will venture out into the world

with a full day ahead of me.

I’ll encounter many people along the way

and face situations I can’t begin to imagine from the comfort of my home.

I know there will be times when I will feel overwhelmed,

emotional, stressed, and stretched beyond what I feel I’m capable.

All the while,

I will carry with me the very presence of God.

 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit,

who is in you,

whom you have received from God?

You are not your own.

I Cor. 6:19

God doesn’t want to just be near me today.

He wants to live IN me.

Go where I go.

See what we see.

Hear what we hear.

How different would today look if I remembered the importance of gatekeepers many years ago?

The men who spent their entire lives protecting the very thing I’m now called to be.

Temples were sacred,

and God’s presence was a gift worth protecting.

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How much effort do I put into guarding the gate to my own soul,

the sacred dwelling place of God?

It took 212 men to protect the temple in the wilderness.

Who am I to think I can go into today

without a constant awareness

of just how easily the enemy tries to slip into my thoughts and actions

if I’m not vigilant on every side?

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This morning, I hear God saying,

“Stand guard. You, and you alone, are the gatekeeper of your soul.”

Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 4:23

 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:7-8

 

(Today’s reading was from Psalm 81; 88; 92-93; and I Chron. 7-9.)