Homesick

Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah. Psalm 84:4

It holds a familiarity like no other place. At home there is safety (allowing vulnerability), comfort and encouragement (family just ‘gets it’), the love and tender care of a mother, the inspiration and wisdom of a father. Home allows one to be 100% themselves—no masks, no facades, no pose, no make up—and still loved!

Jesus is home to His sons and daughters. He is a place for inspiration when discouraged, a place to regain strength when weary, a place to safely cry and find comfort, and a place His children can feverishly lay and feel the healing touch of His hand. He wants to be the home our soul “longs and faints” for, that our flesh “cries out” for (Ps. 84:2).

Children grow and home becomes only a past childhood memory and a place to ‘visit’ for anticipated future holiday. And yet, with God, we never need leave home. We can wake up every day in His house! Like a sparrow’s birdhouse and a swallow’s nest—so is His presence to us (Ps. 84:3).

Don’t be satisfied to simply visit the house of God (church, Bible classes, retreats, inconsistent devotions, etc). Rather, dwell (Hebrew: abide, inhabit, remain in, live, remain, stay) in the house of the Lord. This is accomplished in spending quality time in His Word—daily. In communing with Him in prayer—daily. In all your day’s busyness, set aside the fleeting ‘tents’ of this life (sleep, homework, socializing, even serving) to dwell in His eternal presence.

Truly, there’s no place like home.

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. Psalm 84:10