what is home?

Businesses nationwide are boarding up their windows and doors in preparation for the riots, the top trending search is “presidential election results”, my friend from Italy texted me “how are you and how is the election atmosphere over there?” The world is focused on one thing right now, and it is not God. I did not come to discuss what every other page on your screen is talking about, quite the opposite actually. I came on here to say that I have not seen one presidential yard sign in the neighborhoods we are doing disaster relief in. Instead, the lawns and curbs are stacked a dozen feet high with debris from the houses we are tearing down to the foundations. I have not had one conversation with a homeowner about how they’re voting, but instead, we have talked about which of their family photo albums may be salvageable from the mold. Most of these residents of Lake Charles, Louisiana are not living in their town because their home is moldy, has a tree in it, or has been cleared out. These people do not have a home, they do not have a shelter. What is it that we would always say as kids? The three things you need to survive are food, water, and shelter. Well, imagine not having a consistent roof over your head. Praise the Lord, I have never had that problem in my 18 years of living.

While the world is in chaos, these people have been stripped of their bare necessities and quite frankly do not have the time to focus a lot of their time on the drama of politics. The beautiful thing is, I have met homeowners across the board. People that rely on Jesus with their everything, and those that seem to have never heard his name. You can so clearly see the difference between those who are lead by the Holy Spirit and those who are not. When you have nothing to cling to but Jesus, it is quite obvious that worry, nervousness, anger, and anxiety comes when we do not dwell in him. Psalm 91: 1-2 says “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 

We are called to take refuge in him, and he has a seat at the table for us. As I gut out homes- not just houses- I am torn to shreds knowing that I can only talk to so many people about how our only hope and peace is in Jesus Christ. In the end, it is not me doing any transformation, but our God working in people’s hearts. The Lord loves so unconditionally, we just get to choose into that love, we get to choose a safe place, a home, somewhere where we get to really truly be us and be chosen. 

What is home to you right now? Would you be devastated if your house caught on fire, or a tornado came through? Would you not know how to go on, would you swear and be bitter? Or would you grieve with the Lord and allow him to weep with you, knowing that even though you are not happy at the moment, you still have the joy of the Lord? Would you really be missing anything at all because all things on this Earth are his anyway, and you get the opportunity to have no distractions in your full reliance on him? I could only have faith that I would walk in the latter, but even though I am not a testament to losing all my possessions, I have met people in this past week that are walking examples of that hope, joy, and worry-free spirit. These things shine through them because of so deeply knowing who our Abba and his promises that he is keeping and still have for us.

Again, everything else you might see on your screen tonight might’ve been plastered with blue or red but I pray that we all remember that no matter who our president is, Jesus is still our king. That we cannot be throwing rocks when we are busy washing feet. That our home is in the Lord not in our house. That all things are his- the breath in our lungs, the roof over our heads, and the man that will be representing our country. And that God is SO SO SO good and SO SO SO faithful. wowie.