homesick

Do you recall a time when you were homesick? You were all excited about that first time away from home, friends were around and you were on your own. Then it happened; you desired to speak with Mom, or tell Dad goodnight. You became homesick. Maybe you had traveled to a different location, somewhere very much different to home. While away you realized that you missed your favorite restaurant, you desired that perfect cup of coffee, you knew at that moment you were homesick. Homesick is the very feeling we should have when don’t find ourselves in continued fellowship with other believers and when we are not regular in our own worship of our Lord. Worship is staying in touch with God. It is reminding ourselves of who God is and why He is so important to us. When we gather for fellowship with the church, we surround ourselves with family who remind us of how great our God is. We read the Scriptures and listen to preaching for the same purpose. If we were to miss worship, either private and corporate, our relationship with God would suffer. If we cannot meet with the church for whatever reason, we ought to be homesick for the fellowship of our family and friends.

The desire to worship the Lord drove the Israelites to move back to the promised land and to rebuild the temple of God. They faced many challenges in their efforts, but the difficulty was worth it to be able to worship God in His temple again. As we will read in Ezra 3-4 families returned to work together in unity, to celebrate the festivals and to begin the laying of the foundation of the temple. When the foundation for the temple was laid, some of the elder people wept because they remembered the first temple. They knew what they had lost, and they knew what it meant to be able to build again. For them, it was probably a bitter-sweet experience that was overwhelming.  Others had only heard of the first temple; they had never had the opportunity to worship there. To see the temple being rebuilt must have been absolutely thrilling.  Either way it had to be a very emotional time for all that were involved and for all that had sacrificed for that moment. History has taught us many things and it for sure has taught us that for just about every positive narrative there is a a negative narrative. For every step of progress forward there is also a setback that can push things back a step or two.

Israel encountered a devastating setback during the rebuilding of the temple. The king reversed his earlier decree due to the enemies of God stirring up trouble for Israel. That must have been so discouraging for the people. But they were determined to build the temple for worship, and so they did not give up. Eventually, another king would arise who would order the work to continue.  

Sometimes things happen to us that crush our hope and trust. It is difficult in those times to gather and worship, especially if the thing that happened to us happened at the church. But God is faithful. He never forgets us or His promises. God did not allow the postponement of the temple to last forever. We can trust that God is with us, and fortified by this hope, we can persevere in gathering to worship the Lord and worshiping Him in private.

It is obvious when reading from the book of Ezra that many of those involved were homesick. They were desiring to return back to the original place where not only the temple once stood, but more importantly they desire to return back home to their spiritual roots. So I ask the question again but yet with possibly a different awareness; do you recall a time when you were homesick. Are you desiring to gather again with the church and worship?

I look forward to connecting with you on Sunday either virtually or in person!

Serving Him and Missing You,
Pastor Jeff