Returning Home

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading titled returning home was written by when Collier Walter Dixon had five days to honeymoon before he shipped off to the Korean War less than a year later troops found Dixon's jacket on the battlefield with letters from his wife stuffed in the pockets. Military officials informed his young wife that her husband had been killed in action, actually, Dixon was alive and spent the next 2 1/2 years as a POW every waking hour. He plotted to get home. Dixon escaped five times but was always recaptured. Finally, he was set free.

You can imagine the shock when he returned home, God's people knew what it was to be captured, moved far away and to long for home due to their rebellion against God. They were exiles. They woke each morning yearning to return, but they had no way to rescue themselves.

Thankfully, God promised he'd not forgotten them, Zechariah 10, six reads I will restore them because I have compassion on them, he would meet the people's relentless ache for home, not because of their perseverance, but because of his mercy.

Verses eight and nine say I will signal for them and they will return our sense of exile may come because of our bad decisions or because of hardships beyond our control. Either way, God hasn't forgotten us. He knows our desire and will call to us and if will answer will find yourselves returning to him returning home, today's Our Daily Bread devotional Scripture reading is from Zechariah chapter 10 verses six through 12. I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them, they will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God, and I will answer them. The Afro mites will become like warriors in their hearts will be glad as with wine, their children will see it and be joyful. Their hearts will rejoice in the Lord. I will signal for them and gather them in. Surely I will redeem them.

They will be as numerous as before, though I scatter them among the peoples, yet in distant lands.

They will remember me.

They and their children will survive and they will return. I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Syria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon and there will not be room enough for them. They will pass through the sea of trouble. The surging sea will be subdued and all the depths of the Nile will dry up a serious pride will be brought down in Egypt. Scepter will pass away. I will strengthen them in the Lord and in his name they will live securely, declares the Lord.

Let's pray dear God sometimes. Indeed, we feel distant from you. Maybe a prayer we've been praying hasn't gone answered and we wonder if you forgotten. Maybe we drifted so far away from you that we no longer hear your voice. Whatever the case may be, Lord, forgive us of our sinful ways and draws back to you as you have so lovingly been calling us back to safety into the loving arms of Jesus. Thank you Lord it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen on today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread ministries