Hebrews 11:13, “All of these died in faith without having
received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They
confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth."
To be a stranger for a brief day’s excursion, or a short
trip, can be exciting and intriguing. It’s fun to be introduced to new tastes
and smells and locale. It’s a short step out of familiar that offers a new
perspective. We get to be a little anonymous. And if anything happens that jars
us, we know we will be home in a few hours or a few days and it’s not a
critical matter.
But to be a stranger in a long term everyday setting
requires a whole different outlook. For some it is still an adventure to be
embraced, and yet for others it has the potential to weary heart and soul into
survival mode in order to simply endure.
Always risking miscommunication, or worse insult. Surface
relationships because no one really trusts each other. The wearisome
continually packing and unpacking goods and feelings, getting lost, feeling
alone and isolated. And sometimes
all within your own family who holds a different viewpoint.
Yet when we cling only to stability of location or mind or
heart we risk stagnation. Our comfort criterion turns into a cage. We protect
ourselves from the unknown wilderness and miss out on the beauty in the
distance.
When we hold onto Jesus’ hand we have both: the security of
being completely known and the promises of the unknown before us. We travel
lighter.
Lord, thank you for Your blessing of keeping us as strangers,
so that we are always prepared to travel as You call. Even if it’s just across
the street.
Psalm of Worship: Psalm 136:16
“To Him who led His people through the wilderness,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;”
