Walking On Holy Ground?

Walking on Holy Ground?

“Do not come any closer,” the LORD warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.”

Exodus 3:5

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born on this day, March 6, 1806, in a small English village. She was the eldest of twelve children, and she is said to have begun writing poetry at the age of six. Eventually her poems became world famous and even led to her marriage. In 1844 Robert Browning wrote to her, telling her how much he loved her poems. They met five years later, began one of the most famous courtships, and wrote numerous love sonnets. But it’s a sentence she penned about shoes that has caught our attention this day:

“Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God,” said Elizabeth Barrett Browning. “But only he who sees, takes off his shoes—the rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.” Isn’t it true? Don’t you feel that you’re sometimes missing out on God’s voice, on God’s dramatic movement, because you aren’t attuned to the holy ground you’re walking on? Oblivious to what God could be doing, probably we often miss the spectacular signs of his activity because we’re overly focused on the details and complications of our own lives.

Seeing and hearing God in the common places is not always easy; our myopic, egocentric vision sees to that. Relaxing our minds enough to let God be God is unquestionably challenging. That’s why even as a sincere God-follower you unknowingly end up walking on holy ground on your way to pick blackberries, never realizing what could have happened if you had taken off your proverbial shoes.

The only thing that makes these efforts easier is wisdom. Of course, that’s a tall order. Thomas Carlyle said wisdom is the highest achievement of humankind. So don’t expect it to come overnight—but you can expect it. Wisdom is the by-product of routinely, over time, clearing your head of your concerns and giving God space to fill it with his. And the holy moments you experience with God are moments of wisdom. The more you experience, the more wisdom you acquire. Soon you’ll have a history of sacred moments with God, and you’ll be proficient at hearing his whispers (see Proverbs 1:5).

Try this as a couple. Ask God for wisdom. Sounds too simple, we know. But we urge you to ask. In fact, ask boldly without a second thought. And make it a habit. The invitation is as clear as day: “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you” (James 1:5).

Look around you, and see the holy ground on which you walk.

—Nick Harrison