“Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5)
Beaches are beautiful meeting places. The best way to enjoy the beach is to experience it. Postcards, while picturesque, don’t offer a scratch ‘n sniff option. The air is different, the noises are different at the beach. To truly experience the beach, your feet need to be bare. This allows you to feel the heat from the sand as your toes sink in. As the curves of your feet come in contact with the sand grains, they sink in deeply. Some of the gritty sand sticks to us even as we walk away from the shore. The evidence of where we’ve been lingers.
Bare feet were part of the high priest’s attire for temple service. Going into the sanctuary to serve and worship God was a holy meeting. The high priest met with God in the sanctuary. In addition to the reverence and humility required for this role, with his feet bare, the high priest was able to have an intimate experience with God.
With his feet bare, the high priest had nothing between him and God. He was all in, able to immerse himself fully in the presence of God.
While many of the sanctuary customs have changed since the death of Jesus, God’s love for us has remained steadfast. He continues to love us with the same intensity and desires an intimacy with us. He wants us to immerse ourselves fully in our worship to Him. He doesn’t want there to be any obstacle between our hearts and His indescribable love.
As we spend time in worship with God, our lives will be the evidence of our time together. There will be something different about our characters, our behavior, our words, our service that will linger long after we’ve left His presence.
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This article is part of the Ten Days of Prayer 2018 series. Visit that page to find all the other articles in this series.
