This physical body, my earthly tent...it is weak. I have not been caring for it or tending to it in a way to preserve or better it. It is showing.
At first I felt discouraged and guilty. It is such hard work to change anything. Why did I let myself get to this place. I am unpleasing to myself and to others. Digging my pit...digging, digging, digging. Once in my pit of self pity and despair, I don't know where to begin to get out. Cut out sweets? Start a major exercise regimen? Count calories? Buy a stationary bike? I felt like crying thinking about each of those things and what they would require of me on top of what I feel like I am already sacrificing and working at. I see all the remedies others have been able to use...why am I not feeling drawn to anything? More discouragement. More recognition that my motivation will never be enough on it's own.
I was scanning facebook a few days ago and saw this post:
I get "the temple" idea. Do we really think GOD (or higher power) gives an ish if we are tan/pretty/fab!!? "Cause" I DONT! .Rather have a God that looks at ME, and not "my temple". Blech.
It got me thinking. I am not the only person who struggles with this. In various forms, many people are wrestling with how to care for their earthly bodies. Then it got me praying. God, how do you want us to care for these earthly bodies? More specifically, what are you asking me to do right now to honor and obey you in the care of my earthly body. This person's comment on the 'temple' brought me to His Word.
David wanted to build God a temple. He even had the gift of building a palace, while the Ark of the Covenant was in a tent. But when David inquired the Lord about building him a dwelling place, God said:
2 Samuel 7:5-7
5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar? ”’
But, God honored David's heart
1 Kings 8:17-19
17 “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.18 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in your heart. 19 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’
David wanted to build God a temple. He even had the gift of building a palace, while the Ark of the Covenant was in a tent. But when David inquired the Lord about building him a dwelling place, God said:
2 Samuel 7:5-7
5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar? ”’
But, God honored David's heart
1 Kings 8:17-19
17 “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.18 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in your heart. 19 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’
The temple that Solomon built was magnificent. Cedar, gold, and cherubim made from olive wood. It was ornate. There was incredible detail. I read through 1 Kings 6, slowly, absorbing the descriptive language. Is this how God wants me to pay attention to my body? Why do I feel so resentful toward that? Why do I so heavily resist emphasis on this area of my life? I am sure there are many factors that contribute to this, but here I am now, 30 years old, and I am responsible for every decision that I make. I want to make a responsible decision about my body.
As I asked God to open my eyes and my heart, I re-read the chapter and came to 1 Kings 6:12
"As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, carry out my regulations, and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel."
The temple was not Solomon's plan. It was God's plan.
Perhaps the ideas were Solomon's, within the boundaries of the revealed plan for the tabernacle (in which the temple was modeled after), but it's fruition was God. Everything that Solomon did in preparation, construction, dedication and use of the temple was all for God. It was literally God's dwelling place.
I Kings 10:8-13
Perhaps the ideas were Solomon's, within the boundaries of the revealed plan for the tabernacle (in which the temple was modeled after), but it's fruition was God. Everything that Solomon did in preparation, construction, dedication and use of the temple was all for God. It was literally God's dwelling place.
I Kings 10:8-13
10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. 11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.
12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;13 I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwellforever.”
The temple was magnificent, indeed. But, Solomon's desire in making it that way was to honor God dwelling there. His prayer of dedication is a clear reflection of his heart. It is 40 verses of proclaiming that God is the reason for the temple, and may he be honored by it. These verses of the dedication struck my heart:
v23: “Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.
vs27-3027 “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven,cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 28 Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day.29 May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
vs60-6160 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. 61 And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”
And then God responds. He affirms all that Solomon has done in his name.
1 Kings 9:3
The Lord said to him:
“I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
In the new testament, God gives us an incredible gift. Instead of dwelling in a temple, he dwells within us.
Acts 17:24
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
I Corinthians 3:16:
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
2 Corinthians 6:16:
What can be done with all of this information? These are all God's words, so what does that mean for me, today? I want to think clearly about it, and faithfully bring it to God's feet. I have a daughter who will one day have to settle these things in her heart as well. I want to desire a life of obedience and worship to her.
When I view my body as God's temple, I first think about David. He wanted to build the temple, but was not given a blessing by God to spend his time on that project. I identify with this. I really believe that in the past, for me, God has not given me the blessing to spend my time and energy on building my temple. Like David, I have been combating other things and been on the move. I have not had rest. Thankfully, God's words are comfort. He dwelled for many, many years in a tent. It did not diminish his power (in fact, it was visible and mighty as he led the Israelites out of Egypt and helped David defeat countless armies). It did not diminish his presence. Dwelling in a tent or in a beautiful temple was not about defining God.
But, God did honor David's desire to make a dwelling place for him. It was pleasing to God that a temple was on David's heart. It is pleasing to God that I have been thinking about the physical care of my body, that I have been seeking an opportunity to make it a priority. When God gave Solomon the direction to build the temple, in all of it's splendor and majesty, that was a gift. I feel like I have been given a gift to make this temple of mine a priority.
But how do I make this an act of obedience, to honor God, and not to bring recognition to myself? I have to seek guidance from his Holy Spirit. What do I set aside to make this priority work? How can I be obedient in building the temple while still caring for Jordan and my kids? If only I had multiple servants like Solomon! Then I could really get 'er done :) I have to remember that the state of my temple does not define God's work in my life. I have to be stilled by his Spirit that the response of others to my temple has nothing to do with God's activity in my life. I want to keep the act of building and decorating and maintaining and dedicating and praying over this temple as an act of worship to my God.
So, I work it out day by day, decision by decision. He already dwells within me, the appearance of this dwelling place is simply a gift. If I can really believe this truth and live it, then I don't need to be devastated if construction is put on hold, or if I have to leave the sight of the temple and pack up a tent for a new journey.
I recognize that God's dictation to me of the specifications of this temple are unique to my relationship with him. Others will have different instructions or will be given different materials or will have more time to pay attention to details. My temple is HIS. By his grace he dwells within me. That is a gift.
