This blog post is a part of a series on Thin Places. Read Part One: What are Thin Places?
Thin places themselves as an idea don’t appear in scripture, but there are a lot of examples of them. In the old testament, they are often physical. Moses was in a physical thin place when he first met God at the burning bush (Exodus 3) Elijah met with God on a mountain top, (1 Kings 19) one of the most traditional places for a thin place.
There were also places created as a thin place. The Tabernacle (Exodus 26) and the Temple (1 Kings 3) were places created for God to meet with his people. For the space between eternity and our world to touch so he could communicate with them.
Job’s story as a Thin Place
One story that best shows a thin place as we experience it, is in the book of Job. Job’s security was stripped from him. In one of the thinnest of places that a human can experience, God was there with Job. Job’s walk can reflect ours in many ways.
New Testament Thin Places
In the new testament, there is so much good teaching on suffering and on thin places. (1 Peter 3:8-22, 2 Corinthians 12, James 1:12)
The ultimate thin place we see in scripture is in Jesus and his life. As you read through the gospels you get to meet and see Jesus for the sinless human that he was. In his life and ministry we see him retreating to pray and be with his Father.
What I see in Jesus’s very intentional quiet times are a purposeful way to maintain a thin place. He didn’t shy away from the rawness that came with being exposed to the holiness that was with his father. His humanity didn’t hinder him because he was so perfect, he operated out of the thinness that his Father produced in him.
Calvary as a Thin Place
Jesus was crucified on a hill. The sky was dark. The veil was torn.
The ultimate mark of suffering happened in this thin place. It was both a physical and spiritual thinness. And we are asked to join Jesus in this Thin Place that he created.
Next week we will think through what it is to join Jesus in our Thin Places in life.
