Passage Read: Lamentations 1-4
Meditation Verses: 2:5-7
Thought
No one thought the Lord would do it, destroy His own temple. But He did. He destroyed the city and His own dwelling place. The people thought they would be safe because of the presence of the temple, but as important as it was to the Lord, the ways of the people were more important to Him. Because they did not walk in righteousness, He could not stand to live in their presence, and He was willing to destroy His meeting place to make the point. Today is no different. God doesn't look on the buildings we make in order to worship Him, He looks on our hearts. If our hearts are far from Him even as we meet in a house called by His name, He will not look with favor on us or on the building. The building means nothing; the character and ways of the people mean everything.
Application
I don't impress God by what I give Him or where I go to worship Him. I please Him by doing what He desires. I can look to nothing for assurance but my own care and concern and effort to walk in His ways. If I live in His ways, He will be pleased to dwell with me, even if all the world attacks me. If I make peace with the world to keep it off my back, I will have no favor with the Lord, no matter how many good churches I connect myself to or how often I go there.