Frisbee and the Holy of Holies

I think there are just certain moments in life where you are encased under the umbrella of holiness. There are short moments in life where God invites you so deeply into the Holy of Holies. Now there is a voluminous amount written in the Old Testament about the Tabernacle, Temple, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. We don’t have time for that but it’s definitely worth studying. (I remember in 7th grade I had to make a miniature model of what the temple grounds looked like…I pray that my cardboard, popsicle stick, Ark of the Covenant and tissue paper veil that divided the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies is not even close to this past reality.)

“Within the Holy Place of the tabernacle, there was an inner room called the Holy of Holies, or the Most Holy Place. Judging from its name, we can see that it was a most sacred room, a place no ordinary person could enter. It was God’s special dwelling place in the midst of His people. No human voice could be heard, only God’s.”

Since the veil has been torn, I believe there are moments that God invites us into “a place no ordinary person could enter”; a place that everything goes numb to sound and all you hear is the rhythm of His heart. These few, sacred moments in my life are usually not in a church service, worship set, or my personal study. They usually come to me when I least expect it. I had one a few days back…

I started Young Life/Wyldlife in December and that is where I met Reid. Reid and I are Wyldlife (Junior High…Lord help us) leaders together. Reid and I were up at Fox Run Park with his brothers Johnny and Kyle to play some Frisbee. Right as they arrived, God reminded us of His presence with a bellowing roll of thunder. Saturation is what followed next… It was so strange. It was down pouring and we all just kept playing. We said nothing. The thunder roared, we were drenched…but we just kept playing. The rain was so powerful now that we desisted from conversation due to the volume of the rain. All you could hear was rolling thunder and the Frisbee slicing through the rain drops. God was speaking to me in that moment.

Psalm 18:13, “The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.”

I could literally feel Him there; I swear I could hear Him breathing. His presence and power was so thick and tangible. I was reminded of Isaiah 29 where it says that the LORD Almighty will come with thunder. I looked up for a second (you got to be careful not to look up for too long while playing Frisbee or your new best friend might be a black eye) at those dark cloud that were yelling at us… and I wondered if He was coming back right then. I looked up anticipating His return.

I am learning to live with “One foot raised” as John Calvin so eloquently puts it. I am begging God to allow me to soften my heart and long for His return. May both my feet never be planted firmly on this Earth. He gave me a glimpse of Heaven that day. May we be a people who ache for the return of Christ and play frisbee in the rain.