My Forever House

Psalm 23:6 (NIV)

I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

On July 6th, 2020, I returned to Birmingham after the lockdown, only to be served notice to move out of the house I’d called home for two years. I spent the evening on Rightmove, increasingly despairing at the meagre options I could afford. Around the early hours I went to bed, but my anxious thoughts soon woke me. In the corner of my eye, I spied a book that my Great Aunt Ruth had given me for Christmas a few years prior, and that I’d never opened. ‘Everyday Blessings:365 Daily inspirational thoughts.’ by Max Lucado.

I turned to that day's thought: 

July 7th: “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Lucado writes: "Where will you live forever? In the house of the Lord. If his house is your ‘forever house’, what does that make this house? You got it! Short-term housing. This is not your home. And deep down you know this. So why be concerned about this house when you can be consumed by his house?"

Wild!! That was my shepherd speaking directly into my situation, and anxiety lost all its power.

A few days later, a candid convo with a friend in a beer garden led to an invitation to move in. That move led me into a depth of friendship and community that God has used to shape me more than anything else in my adult life; much more than I knew to ask for. I will be forever grateful.

I love where I live. I hope you do. Maybe you don’t. 

Whatever you feel right now, you have a shepherd who cares for all your needs and, while everything here is temporary, his house is yours forever.

I pray that today, thoughts of Home – his house – will strengthen and sustain you.

Prayer: Help me remember this world is not my home. Thank you for my 'Forever House.'