Where can I go to escape your spirit? Where can I flee to escape your presence? If I were to ascend to heaven, you would be there. If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be. If I were to fly away on the wings of the dawn, and settle down on the other side of the sea, even there your hand would guide me, your right hand would grab hold of me. (Psalms 139:7-10)
Hiding from the activity of the mission station in Zimbabwe, I sat with my back to a clump of shade trees overlooking a steel-blue lake. As I met with the Lord his presence spread peace out to my limbs. He faithfully comforted me every time I visited the spot.
The upside to a nomadic missionary life is that I learn a truth I should have known when I had a permanent address. Home is not a place with numbers and a street name, it’s the presence of Jesus in my life. Not that my calloused heart lets me walk around enveloped in awareness of the Lord, yet, whenever I reach out I find him waiting.
Like anyone, I need a roof of protection, walls to keep out the elements, and rooms filled with peace. But no structure of wood and bricks can guarantee these necessities. Only the Spirit of Jesus Christ gives me the home I seek. He alone protects my heart from threats outside. His Spirit fills me with peace.
I’ve ministered in some of the most impoverished homes on the planet. Families living atop trash heaps or in shacks built on old tires set into the swamp. They know better than me this truth, that Jesus is our real home. Many of them enjoy a far more homey base of operations than do the wealthy. This fact is true because home is a person, not a place—the person of Jesus.
No matter where my feet wander or what trials surround me, Jesus is my permanent address. He is my table of joy, my bed of rest, and my forever sanctuary.
Prayer: Lovely Comforter, you are my home.