Homeward Ache

When Home Doesn’t Feel Like Home Anymore

F – Focus Your Eyes on Jesus

Have you felt out of place lately?

Like your soul is stirring in ways you can’t explain?

The conversations that once came naturally now leave you empty. The things that used to entertain you don’t satisfy you anymore. The people you once fit in with seem farther away, while your heart keeps leaning toward something deeper.

Maybe you’ve even wondered:

“What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I just go back to normal?”

A.W. Tozer once described a city man trying to live on a farm. He doesn’t belong there. Everything feels unfamiliar because it’s not the environment he was made for.

That’s exactly what happens when the Holy Spirit begins transforming us.

As your eyes become fixed on Christ, the things of this world begin to lose their grip. What once felt normal now feels foreign. It’s not because you’ve become “too spiritual.” It’s because you’re beginning to see through heaven’s eyes instead of the world’s.

“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus…”
— Hebrews 12:1-2

When your gaze stays on Jesus, the world starts looking less like home.

U – Unload Your Burdens to Him

Feeling disconnected can be lonely.

You may wonder why friendships have changed, why certain conversations make you uncomfortable, or why people seem surprised that you’ve changed.

Peter said they would be.

“For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do… With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them… and they malign you.”
— 1 Peter 4:3-4

They don’t understand why you don’t laugh at the same jokes.

Why gossip grieves you.

Why compromise no longer feels harmless.

Why holiness matters to you now.

Sometimes they’ll distance themselves.

Sometimes they’ll mock you.

Sometimes they’ll simply decide you’ve become “too much.”

Bring that hurt to Jesus.

Don’t carry it alone.

He understands what it feels like to be rejected.

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you… because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world.”
— John 15:18-19

If you feel misunderstood, you’re in good company.

E – Encounter Jesus Daily

Before assuming something is wrong, ask a different question.

What if this holy discomfort is actually evidence that God is drawing you closer?

Ask yourself:

Am I becoming more aware of sin instead of explaining it away?
Am I more sensitive to the Holy Spirit?
Am I hungrier for God’s Word?
Is comfort becoming less important than holiness?
Do I long for Jesus more than I long to fit in?

If the answer is yes…

Don’t ignore it.

Don’t numb it.

Don’t distract yourself from it.

Lean into it.

Jesus warned that many lives become choked by “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches” (Matthew 13:22). That’s thorn-filled ground—a life where compromise slowly crowds out spiritual fruit.

God isn’t calling you back into the thorns.

He’s calling you deeper into Himself.

Open your Bible.

Pray out loud on your drive to work.

Sit quietly before Him.

Ask:

“Lord, am I uncomfortable because I’ve wandered from You… or because You’ve drawn me closer?”

You’ll often discover that what feels like isolation is actually invitation.

L – Live on Fire for the Lord

Paul reminds us:

“Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
— Philippians 3:20

You may work in the same office.

Sit around the same family table.

Stand in the same school pickup line.

Cheer at the same ball games.

But your heart belongs to another Kingdom.

Every morning you commute into Babylon while carrying the culture of Heaven within you.

So don’t let the pressure to “calm down” extinguish the fire God lit inside you.

Don’t let being called weird, intense, or overly spiritual pull you back into compromise.

In a world where lukewarm Christianity often looks normal, wholehearted surrender will always look different.

That’s okay.

You weren’t created to blend into the weeds.

You weren’t made to be comfortable among the thorns.

You were made to burn with the Holy Spirit and shine with the light of Christ.

Fuel Check 🔥

Are you feeling out of place because you’ve wandered from God…

…or because He’s bringing you closer than you’ve ever been?

If following Jesus is making this world feel less like home, don’t panic.

Lift your eyes.

You’re not losing your mind.

You’re remembering where your true home has always been.

Prayer

Father, thank You for reminding me that I belong to Your Kingdom. When I feel out of place in this world, keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. Give me courage to stand firm, wisdom to walk in holiness, and a heart that longs more for Your presence than for the approval of people. Let the holy discomfort I feel draw me deeper into You instead of back toward compromise. Make my life burn brightly for Your glory until the day I finally come Home. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Love your sister in Christ Sunnye☀️