Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Matthew 8:20 (NIV)
God promised up many things. He promised us peace, rewards, blessings. He promised us trials, struggles, battles, and victory. He promised us the Holy Spirit, eternal life, and power. He promised us protection and provision. And God has kept all of His promises. But He never promised us a home. At least not on earth. We see this not only in the fact that He never made such a promise, but also in that so many of what we consider the greatest in Scripture spent large periods of time homeless. David spent a long time living on the road in caves and then, as king in battles. Abraham traveled all the time from place to place. Jesus Himself spent three years traveling with no place to call home- no home base for His ministry. Daniel spent years in a foreign land and culture. Joseph spent years in forced moving. God sent His prophets back and forth across the land speaking His words. Moses first spend forty years in the desert as a nomad, and than forty more years leading the Israelites around the desert. Now these are easy words to spit out, and say flippantly, but were we in those situations, imagine how hard that must have been. You, go and spend three years traveling with no home, or forty years, or eighty. Now right now, as kids we may be in a settled, reliable home. But maybe God will have us in a different situation at some point- or even now. It will be easy to question and wonder why this would fit in with our picture of who He is, and His promises of blessing, but we must remember that He never promised us a home. Not only that we don’t belong here on earth- our home is in Heaven; but also that He never promised us an earthy physical home. He promised to provide for our needs, and He will, but don’t expect a home in the exact human picture: a place where you belong, a little nest that is yours and yours alone. If He does, it’s a gift and luxury, but be willing and aware that God doesn’t always do that. 🙂
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