Living as a vagabond is unsettling. In fact, the word unsettled appears in one of the definitions of vagabond. 

For six weeks, my husband and I stayed in twelve different facilities ~ hotels, family homes, and Airbnb rentals. Some stays lasted one night, others a week. But inevitably we repeated the weary cycle of packing and unpacking, of loading and unloading. 

I believe God often calls us to unsettle ourselves, to move out of our comfort zone, and to follow Him into unknown territory. The Israelites learned this when God led them out of Egyptian slavery. During their exodus, He guided them with a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night:

By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. Exodus 13:21-22 (NIV)

I find this image so comforting ~ God’s presence never left its place from in front of the people. Yet even as God led them toward the promised land, the Israelites began to grumble. As they faced the unknown, they looked back with longing at what they knew:

In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” (Exodus 16:2-3 NIV)

I used to feel critical toward God’s people at this point. But this experience of continually being on the move has given me a different perspective and a greater empathy for the Israelites. It’s hard to walk by faith into unknown territory~ even when you know God is leading you. We naturally want to follow the path of least resistance.

God wanted to lead the Israelites to the promised land. But to get there, they had to trust Him, wander in the desert, and live as vagabonds for a while. My husband and I also felt discomfort during our recent travel experience, but it did serve a purpose ~ we were able to honor and serve my mother. Still, we rejoiced to see the end of our life as vagabonds. 

But even as we thankfully settled back into our home, I realized we will never truly be comfortable here in this world. We will never truly cease to be vagabonds. Because our home is in heaven, and the Lord is continually leading us there:

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:20 NIV)

Wherever our journey leads us, I know we will experience unsettling times. When we do, I pray we will remember this world is not meant to be our final resting place. And as we remember, may we continue to trust and follow the One who leads us to our forever home.