There is something inside of you that yearns for your homeland.

You have a need to be where you are known and accepted.  The reality is that you are a pilgrim in this place and, though you enjoy certain comforts here, inwardly you long for more.  And so you wait and wonder.

Why must you linger here?

God desires your presence and you desire His, so why the waiting?

As He (Jesus) was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed kept begging Him to be with Him.  But He would not let him… – Mark 5:18-19a HCSB

This man had lived a life of bondage and torment.  In fact, we are told that always, night and day, he was crying out among the tombs and in the mountains and cutting himself with stones.  He was desperate for freedom. So, when Christ came and set him free, this man wanted nothing more than to be with Him.  In fact, Scripture says the man kept begging.  He just wanted to be with Christ.

Can you relate? Have you ever been bone-weary and ready for home? And, yet, He has continued to leave you here in this broken world.  Scripture says that, when this man begged to go with Christ, He would not let him.

Why?

…instead, He told him, ‘Go back home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you. – Mark 5:19b HCSB

Sometimes, you just want Christ to sweep you on home.  You feel weighed down by the burdens of this place and you are ready to go.  I get it. I really do. Have you stalled out somewhere between the Lord has saved me and the Lord will call me home? If so, ask yourself a very important question. Why are you still here?

Everyone has demons they battle. Through Christ, we are set free. But, while we enjoy freedom from our chains, there are still those living among the tombs. We, like the demon-possessed man are commanded to return to those still held captive. We have a message of mercy that needs to be shared.  Someone needs to hear how much the Lord has done for you.  They need to know there is a mercy that brings freedom from any form of bondage.

Right now, if you are a Christ-follower, you are living in the in-between. Your demons of addiction, shame, fear and despair have been cast out. If you have not been called home, however, you have been called back. Back to the place where others still battle their demons.

Someone is waiting to hear your story of His mercy.