Sojourners
“For we are sojourners before you, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope.”
1 Chronicles 29:15
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await
a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 3:20
Our recent Touching Hearts retreat included an incredible creative component. Careful preparations were made for each table of women to have everything needed to create a unique “Sojourn Journal”. Notebooks, pretty paper, tabs, embellishments, scissors, glue, and laminate. Nothing was missing to create my very own masterpiece.
What is it for, you might ask? A place to document our journey with the Lord as we sojourn through this place called earth. My closets bulge with years of journals, but this one is different. Not that it is prettier, but I designed it with great intention for the “unforgettables” of my journey with God during these last days.
Upon arriving back home from the retreat, I had to ponder that word a little longer.
Sojourn: “To dwell for a time; to dwell or live in a place as a temporary resident, or as a stranger, not considering the place as his permanent habitation.“
This word holds more for us than Webster’s definition. As I pondered it with the Lord, deeper understanding came.
Paul told us in Philippians 3 that we are not citizens here on this earth, but our citizenship is in heaven. This is not our permanent habitation. We are sojourning here as a temporary resident. As a disciple of Jesus Christ I am only passing through here, for I belong to another Kingdom. While I am here, it is of great value how I live. He is making me a vessel of His glory.
Then why do the things of this temporary dwelling grip me with the power of a heavy weight champion?
We have an enemy that is constantly pushing and pulling us to live for this temporary world.
He wants our minds and heart ties to be bound to this world, instead of the Kingdom of God in which we truly belong. The things of this world pull against me and seek to squeeze me into its mold, but I am called to a different life.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” Matthew 33:3
Jesus is our example of sojourning. He walked here on earth without being gripped by this world. He never allowed Himself to be pressed into its mold, but He always fulfilled his Father’s will and timetable. His goal was heaven, but not until Heaven’s goal was accomplished. He listened and moved only by the voice of God. (John 5:19)
How did He do it? What was His secret?
Continually Jesus withdrew from people, daily life activities, and the demands of his ministry to be alone with the Father and pray. He waited to hear the voice of His Father to guide His every step. As I mentioned in my last blog, (click here), this was not a ritual or a discipline, but a necessity and a love relationship.
The same will be our secret as we sojourn here.
So go ahead…pull away, pause and hear His leading for you as you sojourn here. He has “unforgettables” to speak to you! (You just might want to write it down.)
When Jesus heard what had happened,
he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.
Matthew 14:13
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Luke 5:16
After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,
Matthew 14:23