Many years ago, a close friend of mine called me on the phone. After talking for several minutes, she said, “There’s no place like home.” I replied, “Sure,” thinking she was referring to the family she was staying with at the time, as she didn’t particularly like it there. Then she asked me if I understood what she meant. I answered, “Sure, there’s no place like home; you miss your mom, don’t you?” But she said, “No, I meant the presence of God. There’s no place like the presence of God.” Until that day, I had never thought of the presence of God as my home.

I held onto that word for several years. Yes, there is truly no place like home. When we leave the presence of God, we become vulnerable to the schemes of the enemy. We lose our sense of worth, our destiny becomes unclear, and we lose our identity, joy, peace, and salvation. There’s no place like the presence of God because there we find fulfillment; even in the midst of our challenges, the joy of the Lord is our strength. We have hope for tomorrow, and we know where our faith lies.

Whatever you are going through, please do not leave the presence of God for even a moment, for that is your true home. In the presence of God, there is fullness of joy.