English (United States) 
Thoughts from DA Kolb
Recently during a divine service, the strains of a well-known, rarely heard hymn—yet that day played by the orchestra—moved over me. My thoughts were fixed on the final line of the first verse:
Here on the earth, I'm pent, can but a stranger be?
Yet nightly pitch my moving tent, Lord, always nearer Thee...
The lyricist expresses the state of being "pent," meaning to be confined or repressed as a normal condition of being a stranger. Because of this, the person described lives a transient life here ("moving tent"), a dynamic lifestyle evolving and transforming by, not only longing, but always actively advancing closer to the Lord.
Reflecting on this, I must ask myself:
Do I feel fully realized in my life in this world or am I actively seeking something beyond?
Do I sense the voice of Christ calling me to a deeper, more fulfilled living?
Do I understand, as the lyricist did, that this fulfillment and purpose is only realized in my intimate relationship with the Lord?
The hymn gives a nice impulse—that at the end of each day, I reflect on how I lived through this day and assess myself. I then can review my thoughts, words, and actions, repent to seek forgiveness for what is not in line with the truth of the gospel, and close the day with the fervent longing to reposition again to a lifeway that brings me together in Christ, one that ensures that I will be forever with the Lord…