Inner Sanctuary or the Castle Tower

I have a desire this morning to rest in God’s sanctuary of peace; deep inside his love and acceptance, where I am free from anxieties, in quiet meditation, where fear and worry are not welcome, where his peace and love reign supreme. This is a place where my Lord and I commune, I feel his peace surround me and I relax knowing that I am completely safe in his care. In this place I can lay my armor and weapons of self-defense down and relax into God’s loving embrace. I do not fight, but I rest from fighting.

Many years ago, we visited the Turaida Castle in the country of Latvia. There were many things that impressed me and one of them was the castle tower. This structure was designed to be impregnatable. It was the place where the occupants would retreat to if the enemy breached the castle walls. It was a place of last resort to preserve their lives. The way I recall, the entrance to the tower was positioned above the ground level a ways and reached with a ladder. This prevented the enemy from being able to easily storm the tower. Once inside, they would remove the ladder and prepare to fight to the finish.

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Near as I recall, inside the tower, the spiral stairway curved up in a counterclockwise direction, which if pursued by an enemy, gave the advantage to the defenders by allowing a right-handed man to swing his sword without hitting the wall. Because most people are right-handed, this left the enemy to advance only by thrusting instead of swinging.

The top of the tower was a lookout where they could rain arrows and other projectiles down on the enemy while they attempted entrance. The problem was that the tower was only a place of defense; one could hardly call it a place of comfort. The confinement, the cold stone, and the winter winds whistling through the windows and arrow ports would have made it a miserable place to spend any length of time in.

The tower of a castle sometimes served as a prison. I remember this from the castle in Saltsburg, Austria. In one of the towers there were iron rings fastened into the walls and floor, to tie up prisoners. The stone around these rings had depressions worn into them from those who spent time in there. The open windows made them subject to all the elements of the weather. One can hardly imagine the misery suffered by those who were tied up and locked away up there above the castle walls. The view was spectacular from up there and no doubt brought the prisoners many thoughts of home, as they looked out over the town and countryside.

Many castles also had sanctuaries for their religious obligations. These were not like the tower of defense but located in the center of their daily lives. In fact, religion played significant roles in the lives of land holders and kings. The sanctuary was a place where they met with their bishops and the God they worshiped. As a point of interest, the Russian Czar, Ivan the Terrible, had a painting depicting God on the ceiling of the private sanctuary where he worshipped. He felt he was next to God himself.

Today are you in the sanctuary of rest with the Lord and those around you, or are you holed up in the castle tower surrounded by self-defense? I am asking myself this question because it came to me this morning in my prayer and meditation. Too often I find myself running to the tower of defense with the evil one hurling his flaming darts at my back, and his soldiers hard on my heels. This may be a place of retreat, but it is hardly a place to live. I suppose this could mean different things to different ones of us. Perhaps we all have a tower like that in our lives where we go when we feel overwhelmed, hurt, misunderstood, or have become emotionally tired. Usually, it is not a place of rest, because of the inner turmoil, shame, or self-reproach that lives there. It is also a lonely place to be. It is a place of self-defense, rather than a place where God is our defense. God wants to shelter us in his sanctuary of peace, where we commune with him and find rest for our souls.

God wants to spend time with us in that sanctuary of peace. When we do, it will give us the peace and strength that we need when trouble arises. For me I find it best in the morning before the family wakes and before I get started with the day. I like to spend time with my Bible, Sunday School book, journal, or other upbuilding reading material, and a cup of coffee. Not always am I inspired or touched, but sometimes it is a visit to the sanctuary of God. In the quiet I can pray and open his word and listen for his voice; just the Lord and me. Other times that sanctuary may be found driving down the road, or in the chicken house.

The inner sanctuary is not just reserved for those quiet times with God alone, but a place for our heart and mind to dwell in throughout the day. If you are anything like me, I face difficulties that make me discouraged. Satan comes with thoughts that want to bombard my mind and wear my resolve down. Negative thoughts, and thoughts of offense at times run around in my mind like castle storehouse rats, with me chasing them furiously until I am so tired I want to head for the castle tower, slam and bolt the door and wallow in self-pity alone with my thoughts and tears.

Unlike the castle tower, God’s sanctuary is a place of peace, safety, and power. When I am in his sanctuary, I need no self-defense like when I am in the tower. Satan’s darts cannot reach us in God’s sanctuary.

The sanctuary of God brings us clarity of mind. The Psalmist writes of the struggle of the mind in Psalms seventy-three. Then in verse seventeen he comes to the truth of the matter and says: Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.

Today I want to dwell in that sanctuary and not in the castle tower.