Strangers and Pilgrims

For our family devotional time each morning we read a Psalm, or portion of one, and the corresponding entry from our daily devotional reading by John Calvin in Heart Aflame.  Actually, because we have missed a few,... okay, several, daily readings, we read two-days worth each morning that we gather for devotions.  One of these days we will catch up to the current reading by the calendar, but for now the pace is sufficient and the Lord has blessed many of the readings with a timeliness unrelated to the actual date yet pertinent to our circumstances.


Monday of this week we read an entry dated April 22, (it was May 20) which was so particularly perfect that a couple of the kids, (okay, and me) giggled.  The reading was based on Calvin's commentary on Psalm 37:1-15.

But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.  The Psalmist means the godly shall live in such a manner as that the blessing of God shall follow them, even to the grave.  The possession of the earth is not always realized to the children of God, because it is the will of the Lord that they should live as strangers and pilgrims in it; neither does He permit them to have any fixed abode in it, but rather tries them with frequent troubles, that they may desire with greater alacrity the everlasting dwelling-place of heaven.  The flesh is always seeking to build its nest forever here; and were we not tossed hither and thither, and not suffered to rest, we would by and by forget heaven and the everlasting inheritance.  Yet, in the midst of this disquietude, the possession of the earth, of which David here speaks, is not taken away from the children of God; for they know most certainly that they are the rightful heirs of the world.  Hence it is that they eat their bread with a quiet conscience, and although they suffer want, yet God provides for their necessities in due season.

Our family has, indeed, been tossed hither and thither.  We have been tried with frequent troubles and not suffered to rest.  And yet, through it all, our Father has sustained us.  Our church have been His hands and feet, providing for our necessities in due season, and His Word has kept our hearts and minds afloat when we were near drowning.  Four years of unemployment have been almost more than we could bear.  Actually, it has been rather a lot more than we could bear but for the grace which the Lord has given.

And now our season of unemployment is over.  The Lord has graciously and in great wisdom provided a good job for Jim which will be fulfilling, challenging, will make use of his experience and education, and will provide for our needs.  It will also require that we move.  This new job is in San Antonio,TX.

My hometown.

So we will be shaking loose the clutter and extra feathers from this seven-year nest we have built in South-Central-East Pennsylvania, (I never did get that straight) and we will carry our twigs down to the great state of Texas to build anew.  It won't be nearly as easy as that sounds, and we will be needing a lot of prayer.  While I know that moving won't be easy, particularly saying goodbye to the many friends whom we have grown to love here, I know that even in this we will see the goodness of God at work.

There will be more to say, about the past few months as well as the coming changes, but for now this is enough.

The LORD has done great things for us; and we are glad. ~Psalm 126:3