Home for Now. This is the title of a book that previously sat on my coffee table. I say previously because as I write this, my house is in complete disarray. We are moving. It has been a nostalgic couple weeks, preparing to move, starting to say goodbyes, or rather “see you later’s,” and trying to wrap my mind around what is to come. This place, our house, Habersham, and the people, has become our home. But that’s just it; those things are just our home for now. That is certainly not to lessen the impact they have made on our life. My husband and I are forever grateful for the time we spent here.
But aren’t we all home for now? As we know, life is seasonal, and change is inevitable. If you are like me, you dig your heels in, not wanting anything to change about your comfortable life. The reality is that would be a sad existence. Isaiah 43: 18-19 says,
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
The Israelites were notorious for being stubborn people. They were always wanting for what they did not have, and at points, even and longing to be back in Egyptian captivity (Exodus 16). Let’s not forget they were also slaves. They were beaten and forced to do hard labor for the Egyptians. Moses rescued them by God’s power, and now, though they are free and on their way to the Promised Land, they desire to return to Egypt.
We are not unlike the stubborn Egyptians. We settle into our lives, good or bad, because inherently we want somewhere to belong. We make ourselves at home. Even the Promised Land for the Israelites was a temporary home. God has been reminding me during this season that He is my forever home. Everything on this side of Heaven is a home for now. I do not have to worry as I take a step in faith towards a new town, a new job, and a new group of people that the Lord is not with me. He says in the passage from Isaiah 43 that he is making a way. Isaiah is prophesying about another season of captivity to come, but also coming savior who far outweighs these things. God was preparing the way for the Israelites as he is for each of us. He is bringing forth life before my very eyes. Stubbornness and unwillingness to change lead to a hardness of heart and an inability to see the good things that are springing forth. Let us not resist the changes in our lives because it is through change that the Lord brings growth.
