God ministers to us more and more deeply as we find Him as our ultimate Resting Place.  Carrie and I have sought a lot of counsel and friendship where God has directed us to relationally, and we have come to rest in His guiding us and providing for us.  In this place of finding Him to be our Home, our actual physical residence has mattered less and less in some respects.  We like to say that home is wherever we are all together, but even more deeply it is true that home is found wherever we are content in the Lord of Heaven, Jesus, our King and Good Shepherd, our God, our Savior.

1 Samuel 1-6 was my reading this morning in God’s Word, and I was caught off guard by how homeless Samuel was in some respects.  He was handed off at a very young age to “work” as an underling to Eli, God’s priest whose whole family was flopping at priestly service.  Samuel has always been near and dear to my wife and me for various reasons.  We deeply admire Hannah (Samuel’s mother) and Samuel as biblical characters, especially when we consider that they really lived and breathed in this world under God and truly did seek God’s face.  We want to be like Hannah with all those God places in our lives, but especially our children and any who we count as mentees/children whether or not we add them to our family biologically.  We’ve found ourselves taking young people under our wing in various ways, even including opening our back yard swimming pool to neighborhood kiddos periodically and encouraging them, asking them how we can pray for them, and the like.  We want to daily be listening like Samuel for God’s will, God’s direction, God’s joy in relationship with Him and those He gives us to encounter and show His love to in various contexts.

Samuel could be described as homeless in some respects, and yet he is a really helpful example of someone who seeks God’s face and finds his safest home in leaning wholly on God moment-by-moment.  It is no wonder Eli’s sons were put to death by God.  They were deeply wicked.  God wants our absolute surrender to Him and we find our deepest safety and rest in His hands, His joys, His plans, His glory.

Do you believe that God is more real than even the concrete physical things happening around you?  The honest truth for me is that I’m coming to realize that this is the case.  God created all the physical realities we experience, so why wouldn’t we depend upon Him for how they will work together for our good and His glory?  I want to lead and love my wife and children/mentees with a heart that continuously depends on God for His providential guidance and joy/fulfilment.  Home is not found in me carving out a secure context for my wife and children.  Home is found as I find my rest in God’s leadership and love for me.  As I find my rest there in His glory and presence, my wife and children/mentees find theirs in that same place more often as well – in most cases – and they feel more safe under my leadership and in my love.

Lord, God of Heaven, Perfect Triune Father, Son, and Spirit, please provide a clear vision to us, Your people.  May we follow You more consistently and listen to Your Word and rest in the direction and provision of Your Holy Spirit, our Helper Whom You promised us.  Thank You that You are perfectly One God, complete, eternal, trustworthy, and deeply enjoyable.  We celebrate Your good presence and glory in our lives.  May we lean into Your grace and enjoy Your working in and through us for Your good pleasure, our Great Redeemer.  In Your glory and worth we rest, Jesus Christ.  Amen.