Tent Dwelling

[what's brewing: got anything fresh?]

I am tired of the tent I am dwelling in. I want to be clothed, to be swallowed up by life. In the face of what has felt like a bombardment of tragedies in the lives of several dear friends and family members in recent weeks, I have found myself today simply exhausted and wishing deeply to be delivered into an alternate reality. I am exhausted by the loss of life that I’ve seen devastate a dear friend this week; my heart is wrought with anxiety as I continue to ponder the painful account of hope that was valiantly and obediently offered, only to be dashed against the rocks of a sinful reality. I am sad to hear of the desperate fight to find a reason to live that has gripped the sibling of a close friend.

In the midst of these difficult circumstances, I have found myself wishing that things could simply be different. When long and meaningful conversations draw to a close and petitions for wisdom and understanding have been fervently uttered, I remain deeply unsatisfied. I find myself wishing in a childlike way that I could just tuck my head deep under the covers and awake to an altered reality where these heartbreaking circumstances have been restored. I just want it all to go away.

I encountered great solidarity today when I reread Paul’s words and realized that he too experienced this lingering dissatisfaction with the circumstances around him, despite God’s authority over them. He expressed it in a far more meaningful way than my childish wish to escape under the covers, but I recognize those feelings in his words. He writes,

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life… Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. II Corinthians 5:1-4, 6-8

This passage is a great reminder that the troubles we encounter in this world are not congruent with what God intended for us. The heartaches and painful disappointments that seem to pervade our world are the result of sin, which we were not created to live with. Therefore we groan and long to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling – the dwelling that is custom tailored to fit us and the way we have been designed.

Whatever you are facing today, take heart with me in knowing that we can join together with Paul in saying that we would prefer to be away from this broken reality and at home with the Lord. And while we wait, we make it our goal to please him.

Lord, let this be true of me; allow me to glorify you as I long for the release from this mortal world and to be clothed in your heavenly dwelling.