Where the Spirit Dwells

Ezekiel 40:28-49 describes all the gates to the inner court,which was strictly for the priests and the Levites and their ministries. Jeremiah 36:10 refers to it as the "higher court," which indicates that it was was on higher ground than the outer court. To me, that seems like the place to be hanging out is in the inner court where you're on "higher ground." If I've got my choice of being in the valley or on "higher gound," I don't think I'm going to have a problem choosing which one.

In Ezekiel 43, the glory of the Lord is represented as returning to the temple. Verse 2 says "and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east." Then in verse 5, "then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple." When's the last time the Spirit lifted you up? Maybe not physically, but when you're having one of those days where you feel like nothing is going right, and you're about to claim that day as a failure, then the Lord shows up!!  We all know what happens when the Lord shows up---EVERYTHING changes! Your bad day just turned into a good day, and the mistakes that you made earlier don't even enter your mind because God has taken over. He has lifted you up!

Here's my encouragement for the day: The next time you think you're not blessed, look at a family that just lost their youngest daughter, their youngest sister, their youngest mentor or model. I find encouragement in those moments, and when I think of all I have, I can't even lift a finger to complain because I'm so blessed!! Don't let other people's "stuff" get in the way of you being thankful for what you do have. The reason you don't make as much money as your friend may be because God knows what you'd do with it, or maybe the reason you're stuck in a job that seems to have no escape is because God is preparing you to take hold of what's coming ahead of you in the future! God is always about preparation and he KNOWS exactly what he's doing. And by the way. . . God doesn't need our help in deciding how to direct our paths---He's already got it all layed out!