Holy is the Lord

Holy is the Lord

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come.
Revelation 4:8b NIV


Visiting countries outside the United States can be an eye-opening experience. Food, transportation, living accommodations and culture stimulate the senses as new and unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells mix with excitement and the rush to see and do it all.

When we were in London, we toured both St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Westminster Abbey. While the architecture and history of those two grand cathedrals saturated my brain with more sights and stories than my mind could comprehend, I felt no connection to my Lord in either of those places. Gift shops and cafes combined with crowds of people and uncontrolled children left me waiting for a moment when I might hear the Lord speak to my heart.

Several days later we spent the night on San Clemente Island in Venice, Italy. The now beautiful and luxurious hotel had originally been built as a monastery. At one end of the hotel stood the monastery chapel built around 1100 A.D. The doors of the chapel stood open for anyone wishing to go inside. One look told me it had not been renovated, but as we stepped across the threshold I felt what I had been looking for in those grand cathedrals of London—the presence of the Lord. As tears flowed, I turned to my husband and remarked, “God did something in this place.”

The floor tiles were coming up, the wall fresco's were all but faded from view, the altar area was in disrepair, but the presence of God could be felt as we whispered our way from room to room. When we found ourselves in the choir area, we sat with our friends and sang praises to our Heavenly Father.

Surely the presence of the Lord was in that place, and I was reminded of how often we are surprised by God in unexpected places and at unexpected times. I remembered that the Ancient of Days is the God of the past, present and future. I remembered that He was holy, is holy and forever will be holy.

I fear we hear too little about God’s holiness in America. I fear we have become enamored with the luxuries of modern living which all too often bring the unholy directly into our living rooms. I shudder as I hear Christians casually using OMG in conversation and on social media, and I remind myself that I must never forget what the angels in heaven continue to proclaim.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.

© Joyce Powell