I am sitting here at my laptop in my new home in Newport News, Virginia.  It is hard to believe that just a week ago I packed up all my belongings and said my goodbyes to family and friends in California.  I couldn’t help as I read “Pilgrim’s Progress“ on the plane on my kindle (thank you Teri!) that my life over the last few years has been every bit that of a pilgrim’s.

A ministry opportunity that didn’t work out in the Midwest almost 2 years ago caused us to return to California  —- we had sold everything and given up our jobs so we were thankful our kids were able to take us in and there we stayed waiting on the Lord for our next move.  Just as Christian learned many things as a pilgrim, the last year and a half God taught me how to be content in Him and how to wait patiently on His promises.

And we are now walking in the fulfillment of so many of those promises and it would be easy to forget that I am a “pilgrim”.

J.B Phillips said that all the heroes of faith looked forward to their true country in Hebrews 11:13-16:

All these whom we have mentioned maintained their faith but died without actually receiving God’s promises, though they had seen them in the distance, had hailed them as true and were quite convinced of their reality. They freely admitted that they lived on this earth as exiles and foreigners. Men who say that mean, of course, that their eyes are fixed upon their true home-land. If they had meant the particular country they had left behind, they had ample opportunity to return. No, the fact is that they longed for a better country altogether, nothing less than a heavenly one. And because of this faith of theirs, God is not ashamed to be called their God for in sober truth he has prepared for them a city in Heaven.

I was never meant to be “comfortable” in the journey — and the discontent and restlessness I can sometimes experience is a sure sign that my heart’s longing is for my true home-land.  I am to hold on lightly to the things of this world and by faith cling to the promises of a better country altogether.  It is this hope that causes my heart to rise as I look forward to what God has for me here —- this is the life of FAITH…the life I always want to LIVE!

How about you?  Is your heart restless today?  Remember you are a “pilgrim”!  This world is not your home so set your heart upon your true home-land and live a life of FAITH!