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Devotional
CONNECTION HOME
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January 28, 2021

Embracing Nomadic Life

January 28, 2021 by MANDY POST HOME Finding community Lack of “home”
Embracing Nomadic Life
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[a] considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Hebrews 11:8-16
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Hebrews 11:39-40

Abraham and Sarah are my role models. I remember crying on my bedroom floor one evening early in our marriage as I was packing boxes I had only unpacked three short months before. We were moving… again. It was a ministry move, and it was a preview to the transient global life we would choose a few years later.  


In this moment of self-pity, pining over not having a permanent place to call home, my thoughts turned to Abraham and Sarah. I thought of how they pitched a tent all those years, waiting for God to fulfill His promise for a nation and land (Genesis 12:1-9; 13:14-18). They never had a permanent home here on earth. They didn’t get to see their descendants move to and live in the promised land. But they believed (Hebrews 11:8-9). They had faith in the One who is faithful to keep His promises, even if it meant they never saw it with their own eyes. They knew their permanent home was far better than any security a nation and land here on earth could give them. Eternity with their Father awaited them, and therein laid their hope. Until then, they would live as foreigners and nomads. 


Our global life is similar to Abraham and Sarah’s, living as foreigners in a land we’re not from and often returning to a place that no longer feels like home. The people we’ve come to minister to remind us in their subtle (or sometimes not-so-subtle) ways that we do not belong here. Yet, our global life changes us in such ways that the place we come from now feels foreign to us. It’s good to feel these things… the not belonging anywhere. This alien feeling helps us long for heaven, an eternal home of peace and security, where all of life is worship to our Father. It emboldens us to passionately share the Good News.  


So the next time you’re living from boxes or suitcases, think of the faithful ones who lived this life before us, and count yourself privileged to be among them. 

Closing Prayer
We praise you, Father, for being our faithful, secure, and immutable God. Holy Spirit, remind us of our amazing Father when we feel insecure and unsettled due to ever-changing circumstances. Help us to remember Jesus’ words that we do not belong to this world any more than He does (John 17:16) and that our eternal home is far better than any place here on earth. Please help us find security and comfort in this truth. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
Resources
Article: Citizens of Heaven: Third Culture Kids and the Longing for Home This is an encouraging article for all who live overseas even though it focuses on third culture kids.
Book: Home is Where My People Are by Sophie Hudson This is a memoir of a Southern girl finding home in the people of her communities. The author will make you laugh, cry, and think deeply in simple ways.
Blog: 100 Days of Real Food This is my favorite food blog. It has great recipes that will make any house feel (and smell) like home. Try the recipes for “Shortcut Chicken Pot Pie” and “Weeknight Beef Bourguignon.”
Question for Reflection

What makes you feel at “home?” Is there a piece of furniture, a photograph or wall hanging, or a certain meal that makes your dwelling feel more like home? When that feeling of “home” can’t be found, what attributes of God or Bible verses bring you comfort?

Comments
Mandy Post
January 28, 2021

When we moved to Ireland, we knew the rental homes would come furnished. Thankfully we didn’t have much furniture to bring over, but we did have our own bed. After living on borrowed items for a month, our new home in Ireland finally felt complete once our container arrived and our bed was put in place. Having our own bed from Texas made our house feel like home, and it has been the same in the four moves since. Fluctuating with the rental market, never really feeling secure, wondering if our landlord will renew our lease or decide to sell the house, I have often had to lean into our never-changing, steady, secure, and faithful God.

When I struggle, I remind myself of Jesus’ words in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” And what are some of the “these things” Jesus had been telling the disciples? He mentions preparing a place for them in heaven, being one with Him and the Father, and giving them the Holy Spirit. Thinking on those things comforts my troubled heart.