The Sojourn
God’s Heart
Opening your heart to God’s Word is a beautiful, life-altering experience. God’s Word is His heart. As we read it and reflect upon it, the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts and guides us according to His perfect will for our lives.
Some of us live life in perpetual wander with a propensity to travel to faraway lands - always looking forward to the next adventure; whereas, others of us are homebodies, who would rather be home than any place else on earth. Nevertheless, for most people, there does exist a place - whether it be a particular house on a particular street, or simply a geographical location - that represents home, and that place is typically held dear in one’s heart. Home represents familiarity, settledness, belonging, ownership, and most significantly, a sense of identity.
The concept of home is important to Abraham’s story. In order to obey God and receive the blessings He promised, Abraham had to abandon all that home represented. He had to walk away from all sources of natural security and identity. He had to look to God as his family’s only source of protection, fellowship, kinship, and familiarity.
Genesis 17:8 speaks of it -
Abraham was a sojourner in the land of promise - the land his offspring would inherit.
Sojourner is defined as a resident foreigner, a lodger or a stranger. From the day he arrived in Canaan to the day he died, Abraham would be a stranger in the land of promise - the land for which he left home and followed God. We see the implications of his life as a sojourner most poignantly when, after 62 years of living in the land of Canaan, Abraham finds himself pleading with the Hittites for a piece of property to serve as a burial place for his wife.
Genesis 23:2-4:
And Sarah died in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
Upon his death, that field with that grave, along with one well, would be the only land Abraham would own. Every step of the way, he was a foreigner, asking permission - beholden to those who inhabited the land God promised to his offspring. Biblical Scholar, Douglas Moo, notes that every time Abraham set up his tent, he most likely had to plead his case. Abraham was truly a sojourner in that land, and it was hard. Abraham suffered, but he was not without hope. His hope was eternal. He left his home for a better one - for permanent residency in the presence of Almighty God.
Hebrews 11:9-10:
By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
As Paul tells us in Romans 8:16-18, in order to inherit God Himself - to be coheirs with Christ - we must suffer with Him.
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Part of that suffering for Abraham meant settling into the uncertainty of his earthly sojourn, knowing his true destination would be reached beyond this earth. It is interesting to note that in Genesis 13:17, God has Abraham walk through the length and the breadth of the land that He promises to him. Yet, immediately after, Abraham moves his tent. In the physical land itself, Abraham would remain unsettled, but in his seed - Jesus and the Body of Christ (the Church) - he would be assured of his true residency. He finds no settledness in Canaan, as his true home is in the God who leads him there.
Living as sojourners upon this earth is significant to our roots as Abraham’s seed, but so is the abiding presence of our covenant-keeping God. This is evident throughout Scripture.
Long after Israel settles into the land, King David praises God before an assembly of believers for the provision of the temple. Although Israel possesses and occupies the Promised Land, David notes the impermanence:
1 Chronicles 29:14-15:
“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding…”
Though we are strangers here, the Lord always provides and is always with His people.
Psalm 39:12:
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry…For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.
In fact, He sojourns with us upon this earth, just as He sojourned with Abraham and all of Israel.
Wherever Abraham had a tent, God had an altar. It was in his worship and his communion with God that Abraham found assurance. Like Abraham we wait to reside permanently in Christ. Like Abraham, we suffer along the way, but in every struggle, every heartache, we move closer to our true destination in Him.
Colossians 3:3b-4:
… your life is hidden with Christ in God.When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Hebrews 13:14:
For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
Jesus is our hope. He is our family. In Him, we find settledness and familiarity - a city that has foundations - a lasting city. In Him, we find our true home. Jesus is our destination.
Share Your Heart
Consider the following discussion starters as you share your hearts with one another:
Matthew 8:20 speaks of Jesus Himself having no permanent residency on earth.
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.”
He too was a stranger on this earth. How does this speak to you about your own sojourn?
One day all things will be made new and we will find our permanent dwelling place in the Lord’s presence, but as we sojourn on earth, He is with us every step of the way. Read Psalm 39:12 again. It tells us that the Lord is a sojourner with His people.
Share with one another about times when you were encouraged by His sojourning with you.
Wherever Abraham had a tent, God had an altar. He gave God a place of priority in his life. It was in his worship and his communion with God that he found assurance.
As you walk into uncertain circumstances along this earthly sojourner, how can you symbolically build an altar for God? Does communion with God help you as you wait upon Him? Share examples with one another.
The Cries of Your Heart
At Hearts Together Women, we believe that the Lord hears the cries of our hearts.
We also believe in prayer partnership because God’s Word teaches us that partnering with one another in prayer is powerful.
James 5:16 says, “Therefore…pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
And Jesus encourages us, “When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there” (Matthew 18:19-20, The Message).
What amazing promises!
Here is how prayer partnership works at a Hearts Together Gathering:
After we share in the Word and discussion, your facilitator will ask each woman for her prayer requests. All you need to do is share your requests - the cries of your heart - because we all have them.
We encourage you to request prayer for 1) your own needs; 2) the needs of your family and loved ones; and 3) the needs you see around you - in the workplace, the school, the neighborhood or even the nation.
After the requests are shared, your gathering facilitator will lead in a prayer for the needs that were put forth.
In the following days, we encourage you to pray for the requests of the other women in your gathering. They will do the same for you. That’s what prayer partnership is all about!
As we partner with one another in prayer, we trust the Lord will meet with us and answer us in accordance with His perfect will.
Your Heart to His
Maybe you felt the Holy Spirit stirring something in your heart during this gathering. It doesn’t have to end here. Take it home. In the followings days, continue to pursue Him. Spend some time alone and quiet, away from the noise of life - just you and Jesus.
Tell Him the cries of your heart. He is listening; He cares, and He does answer. Praying is kind of like having a conversation with your best friend. He created you, so He already knows everything about you. He just wants to be with you.
After you pray, reread the Scriptures and thoughts under God’s Heart. Reflect upon the verses and how they speak to you and your life.
Here are some things you might contemplate and pray about:
In the physical land of promise, Abraham would remain unsettled, but in his seed, he would be assured of his true residency. He finds no settledness in Canaan, but he finds his true home in the God who leads him there. Like Abraham, we live as strangers upon this earth. Reflect upon that today and remember that you are a citizen of heaven - a member of the household of God. Jesus is your true home. Settle into Him. Find your own settledness and identity in Him.
This is just between you and Jesus - your heart to His. Make space in your busy days to spend some time with Him.
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Do you have a Bible? If not, there are many digital options - Bible apps, etc. We suggest starting with John’s Gospel.
