You Can Go Home Again

As a bird that wandereth from her nest,
so is a man that wandereth from his place. Proverbs 27:8

This verse caused me to count the cities my family has lived in over the years. Since my childhood years in central Kansas, I have only returned to visit. Marriage scuttled us down to three diverse cities in Texas. Ministry shifted our family to Brazil and then back to Kansas. My husband’s career then upended us northward into Michigan and Ohio. We have been nomads since marriage.

On the many visits back to the places we have called home, it never feels like home upon our return. The landmarks and people may be the same, but our experiences have changed our perspectives, and we never quite belong to the place we once felt comfortable. Friends we once considered besties forever rarely stay in contact, and time continues its slow march forward. Nostalgia swirls with its memories, but it remains a haze that cannot be held again.

In a world where everything but death and taxes change, it is comforting to know that the God who created the Universe is immutable. We change. Our perspectives, principles, and purposes change. God never changes. I thought of this as I read my correlating Scripture in Isaiah.

For thus saith the high and lofty One
that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy;
I dwell in the high and holy place,
with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble,
and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15

God knows who we are. He knows human nature needs growth and change to fully understand His nature and to see Him at work from the beginning. Like Solomon, we grasp vapor in our pursuit of everything but Him. Finally, we return to the One who has been waiting for us to come Home to Him the whole time.

The word “revive” means to bring again to life; to reanimate, according to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary. When we return to God with humble repentance, He renews our hearts to see Him with new eyes and appreciate Him in new ways. He welcomes back the wanderer with open arms and makes Home better than we ever knew it before. So, while we cannot really go home again, God always makes it possible for us to find our way back to Him whenever we are ready. He offers His unchanging Home to all who wander, which is not temporary. His Home lasts for eternity.

If you have never made this relationship with God your own, why not today? Have you pursued everything but Him and found life empty? God has done everything in His power to draw you back to Him. He sent His own Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty of our sinful choices. He raised Him from the dead to show His power over death and to offer us new life. Will you not humbly return to the One who made you, and ask Him to make His Home yours?

And if you have made the decision to believe on the name of Jesus and then wandered away, know that as long as you have breath, He calls you back to Himself. He waits on the path back Home even now with His arms open wide. You can still make the choice to come Home again.

Have a blessed weekend, my friends.

Erica B.