Returning Home

When we lived in Chester, we had a cat who adopted us. One night when I was leaving the church, he was at the church door and it was a cold night so I took him home.  He grew up with our family.  When we moved from Treely Road to Woodpecker Road, I left him until the last trip and put him in our pick-up.  He didn’t want to go and I got clawed.  When I got to our new home, I let him out of the truck and he ran off.  He wouldn’t come in the new house.  We took his food to the edge of the woods for a long time and he would come and eat it but still would not go into the house.  One day he disappeared. We didn’t see him for a long time until one day we went by our old house on Treely Road, and guess what, that cat was there. This was no small feat for that cat.  It was five or six miles. That cat who adopted us decided he was going home and he went.

Nehemiah had a good job in the king’s court in Susa, but his heart was not there.  Nehemiah had just heard the sad news about the condition of “the city where my ancestors are buried.” (Nehemiah 2:3) He prayed, “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses…’ if you return to me and obey my command, then even if your exiled people are at the furthest horizon, I will gather from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’” (Nehemiah 1:8-9)

I have a friend in the hospital who is so excited because he gets to go home. Home is where the heart is!  In Nehemiah’s case, longing for home was more than being tied to the land. He wanted to have communion with God. He knew that Jerusalem was the dwelling place of God. We all should yearn to be at home with God!

Prayer: Father, help me understand that only You can satisfy my longings.  Help me be at home with You, no matter where I am.  Amen.

Nehemiah1:9 – Even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen.

Author: Tommy Herndon