Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Christian Crier

Home
About

Home
Evangelical
Top 7 Bible Verses For Those Feeling Homesick

Top 7 Bible Verses For Those Feeling Homesick

Last updated on: February 17, 2016 at 12:22 pm by Jack Wellman

Top 7 Bible Verses For Those Feeling Homesick 2016-02-17T12:22:17-06:00 Jack Wellman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Here are seven Bible verses that I hope can help those who are homesick.

Second Corinthians 2:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

The Apostle Paul knew very well about what he was writing about as he often suffered deprivation from hunger, cold, and even his beloved Jerusalem and wrote “To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless” (2nd Cor 4:11) so he knew what it was like to be homesick. Just read how far Paul traveled in his missionary journeys in the Book of Acts and how he suffered so greatly because of it, but he also understood, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1st Cor 9:16b)!

Isaiah 26:3-4 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

The Hebrew word for “stayed” is “camak” and means “to lean upon, to lay, to rest” or “to support one’s self” so we can say that God will everyone in perfect peace whose mind leans upon, rests in, and has the support of God because they trust in Him. He is the “everlasting rock” or again, as the Hebrew says of “everlasting” (Hebrew “`owlam”), that rock is “perpetual,” or “forevermore” and perhaps that can help the person whose homesick to have the peace of God since all believers are at peace with God (Rom 5:1).

Isaiah 66:13 “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

What a beautiful description of the love of God and who better understands comforting a child than their own mother? What tenderness with which Isaiah writes and the Jews who read this may have still been in captivity at the time. They still had a hope that God would preserve a remnant for Himself and they would return them to their beloved Jerusalem, so Isaiah must have been writing this to comfort them in their homesickness. May He do the same for you if you are far from home right now.

Hebrews 13:5-6 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Is the author of Hebrews saying that there is a connection between the love of money and contentment? I believe so, but we can also see how he stresses the faithfulness of God Who is a God that will never, ever leave them or not once forsake them, even they forsake Him (at least for a time). This gives hope for the homeless, the prodigals, the impoverished, and those who are far from home. You can go anywhere on the planet and God is still not going to leave you or forsake you. It’s doesn’t matter where you are; it only matters that “the Lord is [your] helper.”

Matthew 8:19-20 “And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

This is not our home. We are only sojourners on a journey and just passing through and headed for the eternal kingdom to enter into His rest. Where the ancient Israelites refused to enter into, we will (Heb 4). Those who have died in the faith before us “acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (Heb 11:13) and they, like us, “desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (Heb 11:16). I think that’s why Jesus never claimed a home after He started His ministry because neither was this His home…yet!

Mark 10:29-30 “Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Here is a great picture of the future home of the children of God. They may lose much in this world but everything in this world is passing away anyway, so why try to hold on to that which is passing away when you can cling to that which is eternal? Especially considering they gain a hundredfold in brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers, and in lands, but the most significant gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Rom 6:23), freely given by God’s graciousness (Eph 2:8-9).

Heb 11:13, 16 “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

How was Paul able to endure so much in his life? He wrote, “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need” (Phil 4:12). Since experience is the best teacher and repetition is the key to memorization, Paul had to learn in the classroom of life how to be content with circumstances. How many lessons did it take for Paul to learn to be content? No one but God knows. The important point is contentment doesn’t come naturally; it has to be learned and learning takes time.

Conclusion

Those who are serving in the military are very prone to being homesick because they are separated from family and friends and are missing the holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries but also important life events like the birth of a child, marriages of loved ones, and the deaths of family and friends and having to miss their funerals. This can be very difficult but there is reassurance in the Word of God for all of us because we know that this is not our home (thankfully!) as we are “strangers and exiles on the earth” (Heb 11:13) but we “desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (Heb 11:16).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

Previous Post

February 17, 2016

Top 7 Bible Verses For Those Feeling Inferior

Next Post

February 17, 2016 Top 7 Bible Verses For Those Feeling Judged

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Answers Bible Definitions Bible Story Bible Study Bible Verses Christian Books Christian Entertainment Christian Fathers Christian Mothers Christian Quotes Devotional Famous Christians Music News Parables Prayers Quotes Sunday School Lesson Uncategorized Youth Sermons

Select a Month October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What book comes directly after Lamentations?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Hosea Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel