I Wanna Go Home!
by Karen Makishima, Director of Ohana Ministries
Jeremiah 31:7-9 This is what the Lord says: “Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, ‘Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel. See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return. They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
In this fascinating Old Testament book, Jeremiah warned the people of Judah of the judgment that was coming if they chose not to repent, which they did. As a result, they were attacked by their enemies, captured, and taken into slavery to Babylon for seventy years. Destruction and judgment came on a nation for their hardened hearts.
I can’t imagine not being able to go home for seventy years!
I have had the privilege to go on several mission trips. On the first week I love the newness of the experience. I love the people, food, music, the landscape, their dress – everything was different. The unfamiliar was so intriguing. But after about that first week, I found myself feeling totally out of my comfort zone. I longed to go home wanting something familiar. One time I remember lying on the ground trying to go to sleep in a third-world country desiring to have my own bed, a warm shower, and a Diet Coke from 7-11 with lots of ice. I couldn’t wait to go back HOME!
So can you just imagine the longing the Israelites had for their home?
But starting with Jeremiah chapter 30, the tone changes from judgment and destruction to comfort. The Israelites are returning from exile. God is bringing His chosen few, His remnant, back home. It is a joyful homecoming. All that is familiar is being restored. For it is HOME, a place that may have been completely lost while in exile. But something within them kept them connected to their tradition, to what once was. . . to their home. What was lost is finally being restored. They are going home.
“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back this place. For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:10-11, ESV)
Don’t you just love how our God is faithful even when His people are not? The Lord led the Israelites back from exile into freedom. This time, though, the path home was straight, unlike the time when they were wandering in the desert for 40 years.
God wants to do the same for us. If you are feeling exiled or alone and are wanting to go home, allow God to bring you to His path. He wants you to belong and be with others who can walk alongside you in your faith journey. God wants nothing but the best for you.
Pray: Father, for those times when I feel “exiled” or alone or I just don’t belong, please help me to remember that I really am not because Youʻre always with me. Help me to reach out to You and other people. Bring me back to where I can have a sense of home in Your ʻOhana. Renew my relationship with You, Abba Father. And for those who don’t know you yet as their Father, please show Yourself to them in a powerful way. Woo them into Your ʻOhana. Amen
Share this with a friend.
