Nancy Hughes: Can I come home?

“. . . and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalm 23:6 (NIV)

My youngest daughter always got invited to slumber parties while growing up. It almost seemed like she got an invitation every week. And she truly wanted to go and to stay overnight. There was always so much fun! There were endless bowls of popcorn and cans of soda and movies and giggling and serious conversations with her friends.

Sleep didn’t come until the early morning hours. And therein was the problem: she loved it all and couldn’t wait to go . . . until it came time to sleep. She always had to come home. Not our choice, but hers.

We knew that there would be a phone call about 1 or 2 a.m. and a sweet little voice would say “Mom, I’m not feeling well. Can I come home?” and we would quickly drive to her friend’s house and pick her up.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like her friends or that she didn’t enjoy herself at the parties. It was simply that, when it came time to rest for the night, she needed to be in her home, her bed, and with her family.

We talked with her to see if there was a fear of leaving us or another reason for her always needing to come home. She simply said “When it’s nighttime, I want to be with my family; I just want to be home.”

By definition, home means “the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.” But it meant so much more than that to our daughter.

It was a place to rest, to relax and to know that, no matter what, her father would be there to watch over her and the rest of the family. She felt secure in knowing that when she went to sleep, she was safe in her home
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Oh my friends, could I encourage you to never leave God’s home? I know that we live in a world that begs us to stay and enjoy what it has to offer: endless “slumber parties” with food and drink and laughter and conversations with friends.

And while those things themselves are not bad, there is a danger in thinking that this world is truly our home and what we have here will last forever. It . . . will . . . not. This world offers temporary residence while our Father offers a permanent residence within His will and in His home.

So I encourage each of you to please examine your hearts and if you realize that you are acting as if this world is your permanent residence, do what my daughter did: call home! Our Father is waiting for the call and longing to pull you back into the safety and security of His presence.

Can I come home? Absolutely.

Father, how thankful I am that you have a permanent home for me, with you. I praise you that I can call you when I am outside of your house and your will and you will pull me back into the safety of you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up. . .

Reflect

Have you ever written down one week’s events or appointments in your life?

Were any of those events or appointments focused solely on the Lord?

Apply

Journal all of your activities for one week.

Do they reflect a person who views this world as a temporary or a permanent home?

Power

Psalm 23:6 (NIV) “…and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Matthew 11:28 (NIV) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Psalm 90:1 (NIV) “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.”

(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)