There is hardly a more heart-wrenching scene than witnessing a soldier return to his or her family and loved ones after a long deployment. The final days and hours leading up to their return must drag on with thoughts of home lingering in their minds. For most people (soldiers included), it is easy to grow weary in a life that is away from people and places that we love. The thought resonates with people to such a degree that Christians often describe life’s journey with the same sentiment, “I want to go home.”
God allows us to go into this life with our eyes wide open to the “tiresome” realities in which we all find ourselves at different times. Some happenings come with such a heavy burden that it causes us to wonder, “Is the destination worth the journey?” For a soldier, their obedience to commands and completion of daunting tasks is all a part of that journey in hopes of one day returning home. For a Christian, our destination takes on an even bigger meaning.
In Psalm 95, the Psalmist describes the Israelites destination of the promised land as His “rest” (95:11). The Hebrews author makes a connection using the same word to describe the destination of our “heavenly calling” in Christ (3:1). Like the Israelites, there are those who fail to enter it because of disobedience (4:6) that was the result of weary and hardened hearts.
God always desired for Israel to long for the promised land because He intended for it to be their home. This is where family, hope, and love dwell. When their hearts were hardened to long for something else (Hebrews 3:8), it deceived them into thinking that the destination was not worth the journey. Don’t let the tiresome and weary parts of this life keep you from returning home. God knows the journey is not easy, but Jesus says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Do we love God enough to say, “I want to go home” and do whatever it takes to get there?
In Love,
Sage