God isn't just the God of -- 

Steeples, Prayer meetings, well-paying jobs, Mission trips, intact families, worship songs, Sunday School, all those visible spaces, the ones we show to the world. The ones that look like we have our act together. The ones where we will be praised. He is bigger than that! Much bigger. His heart is bigger. His presence is bigger. His well-worn tenderness is bigger. 

Because

He's also and especially the God of --

Oncology visits, broken hearts, Empty checking accounts, Funeral parlors, Rehab rooms, sleepless and fitful nights, bathroom floors, messy lives. The places where it's just us and Him. The ones only He can see. Hear, understand, guide, comfort, heal. 

The places of --

Loss, despair, loneliness, doubt, fear. 

That are also the places of --

Growth, hope, belonging, grace, peace the places that nothing and no one else can touch. Except for this big, big, "very present help in time of trouble, "tender-hearted God. 

Those are the most sacred places of all; and some of the most beautiful.