Are You a Comfortable Refugee?

Daily Devotional – Thursday, June 22, 2023
And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.
Hebrews 11:15 (NKJV)

I recently watched an interview involving a refugee from Somalia who had just entered Kenya after fleeing from Somalia. He strongly expressed his desire to stay in Kenya’s Dadaab Refugee Camp for the rest of his life. He became a comfortable refugee, preferring his current circumstances to the persecution in his motherland.

They Were Strangers and Pilgrims

This man reminded me of an Ethiopian Refugee and Kakuma Refugee Camp (still in Kenya) who had become a millionaire inside the camp by operating a thriving business, supplying fellow refugees with food and other essentials. He, too, was comfortable in exile and was not willing to return to his country of birth.

Similarly, the Bible talks of some exiles who left their homes with no intention of returning. However, this family left voluntarily and not because of insecurity, coercion and lack. Abraham and Sarah left the comfort of their families in Ur of the Chaldees and travelled to a ‘refugee camp’ called Canaan. While God had promised to give them the land, they “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (Hebrews 11:13).

God Has Prepared a City for Them

Why? “For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.” (Verse 14). God wanted Abraham and his descendants to inherit the heavenly kingdom, which made earthly treasures fade in comparison. Abraham knew he had a higher calling. Therefore, he chose a different lifestyle in his land of sojourn.

Did the patriarch and his family crave to return to the comfort of Ur? “And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.” (Verse 15). As exiles, they choose not to contaminate themselves with momentary pleasures. “Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” (Verse 16).

Are You a Comfortable Refugee?

As Abraham’s spiritual children, we are refugees on earth. We are heaven’s citizens on earth. The pleasure of our former lives will tempt us to return but we must resist the allure. Our character should exemplify the philosophy and ideals of the city and country God has prepared for us in eternity.

There is a risk of becoming too comfortable in exile and forgetting we aspire for eternal life. Like the two refugees in Kenya, if we encounter a life without trials and hardships, we may abandon our quest for eternal life. We must never forget that we are spiritual refugees whose destination is an eternity of bliss with God our Creator and Redeemer.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me not to become a comfortable refugee and forget I You have prepared a blissful eternity for me.