Where is home for you? My early life, moving with our military family, made that question hard to answer. My dad would have said, “The Ozark mountains, near Springfield, Missouri.” Mom, on the other hand, was a “dyed in the wool” Texan (and Baptist). No matter where we lived, she told us it was better in Texas. Now with a few exceptions, my brothers and I, our kids and grandkids reside in Texas. Mom’s chicks are mostly in the nest she chose.
For Abraham, home had been Ur of the Chaldees. But when he left, he left. God told him to go to Canaan. So he and his wife Sarah moved. His son Isaac also stayed in the same land. Now Abraham’s grandson Jacob returned to his geographical and spiritual roots. There is something to be said for staying in one place. One of my favorite verses these days comes from Psalm 37:3-4, “Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Corrie Ten Boom famously wrote, “The only safe place in the world is the center of God’s will.” Some have misconstrued this to mean that if we are in God’s will, we will not suffer. Remember Corrie gained her perspective from time spent in a prison camp during World War II. Going with God will not necessarily shelter us from difficulty. God’s people often find ourselves in storms. But when we choose to obey, we place ourselves in God’s presence and protection, no matter what comes our way. We are safe in the storm, even if we are not safe from the storm.
The Psalmist put it this way, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will rest in the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1). No wonder Moses, who traveled to get back to the promised land, said, “Lord you have been our dwelling place, throughout all generations.” Home is where God is. Make your way to him today and abide in his presence. You will never regret it.
