Dwelling in Tents

I have recently joined a rather illustrious list of tent-dwelling people. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all dwelt in tents: By faith he [Abraham] dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise (Hebrews 11:9). Although I suspect my tent is more modern than theirs, and they did not have luxury items like gas bottles and beds, I believe there are timeless lessons to be learned from dwelling in tents.

Everywhere I go, people ask me when I am “going back home” my usual reply is that I have no home. My home is where my tent is currently set up, and that changes from week to week. I no longer have a home in South Africa, even though it is technically my home country. I have stashed some of my less mobile stuff in the corner of a room, but most of what I own is in my tent. Such a reply is generally met with a shocked silence, followed by a “Sorry I asked” look of pity.

Living in a tent brings home the idea that I am a pilgrim on the earth and my real home is in heaven. Living in a tent makes one realize just how temporary life on earth really is. When I move my tent I like to look back at the campsite and see an empty space – it is like I was never there. Indeed, I am sure that when Abraham saw the empty space left after breaking up camp he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10).

Living in a house gives you a sense of security and stability – houses seem to be reliable and it becomes easy to put your trust in the feeling that no matter what, the house will always be there. That this feeling is entirely false, however, can be witnessed by thousands of people who have lost their houses in an instant to natural disasters.

When you live in a tent, there is no false sense of security. One particularly cynical woman commented that: “all your stuff could get stolen, as anyone can slash through the sidewall of a tent – locking the zips together won’t even help”. I also heard a man recount how his tent was slashed open by a curious lion, with him in it! Anything could happen at any time to my tent: it is veld fire season and some days it seems that the entire region is on fire; I work in areas where people live below the bread line, so the temptation to steal from the tent must be strong; predators and elephants are commonplace in the region and none of the campsites are fenced.

Any of the above factors could strike fear into the heart of those whose trust is in their dwelling place and whose home is on earth. However, the Lord has taught me to trust in only One, eternally faithful Person – Himself. He has taught me to build my ‘house’ (i.e. my life) on the Rock: whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them,  I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock (Matt. 7:24-25). If my tent burned to the ground, or washed away in a flash flood, or was trampled by elephants etc. etc., my life would still be founded on the Rock, which cannot be moved.

I have also discovered that everything seems to break when life is spent traversing some terrible roads between campsites. My vehicle rattles constantly, my gas lamp is cracked, my torch makes strange clinking sounds and all my electronic equipment is permanently covered with a layer of dust. All of these issues and any of the potential disasters outlined above can be laid to rest by the Lord’s words in Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Lastly, many who see me setting up my tent comment on the fact that I am alone. In one instance, some Afrikaans tour guides were holding a loud discussion with each other about me being alone – they assumed I didn’t understand Afrikaans. Mostly, people ask me directly whether I am alone and usually follow up with “Aren’t you scared?” or “Aren’t you lonely?” Whilst I am certainly not afraid of traveling alone, loneliness does threaten occasionally. Nonetheless I am comforted by Hebrews 13:5 – be content with such things as you have, for He Himself has said, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” So that we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" Amen.