“By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:” (Hebrews 11:8). Becoming a part of the Covenant, or entering into the promised land can feel disorienting. Part of us will feel like we do not belong, like we are strangers in a strange land. We may feel that our stay can be only temporary, a mere sojourn. Either we will be found out as a fraud or else we will be offended by the hypocrisy, neglect or malice of others. We will insist on dwelling in tents and tabernacles rather than building a permanent home because part of us is convinced that this cannot last. If we feel this way, then so did our father Abraham. It requires faith to sojourn in the land of promise and endure the feelings of alienation and impermanence. We may not know how long it will take for the promised land to feel like home - familiar, comforting, permanent. It may even take more time than is allotted to us in this mortal life to truly feel as though we belong and have a secure place, but I do know that if we exercise that faith and put our trust in the Lord, then one day our sojourn will become permanent, even eternal, and our tabernacle will be replaced with a temple, solid and immovable and fixed to a firm foundation.
