Day #22 Recipe for a Savior

A PLACE TO STAY

Day # 22

Luke 2:7 …and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

            No room. That is the last thing that you want to hear when you are traveling. You pull into a motel, looking for a room after a long day of traveling, ask for a room and are told, “Sorry, no rooms are available.” Your heart sinks. It is in the middle of a major blizzard, the roads are being shut down. Hotels and motels are full. There is no place left to stay. What would you do? How would you feel?

            Now imagine that you are traveling with a woman who is great with child. The day of delivery is close at hand. You have traveled for days. It has been a difficult journey. You have reached your destination with a sigh of relief. Then you are told, “No room.” No room. Your heart sinks. Do you have relatives close by that you can stay with? Not at the moment. What do you do? You take what you can in order to get a “roof” over your head for the night.

            Joseph and Mary have been traveling far too long for a woman who is expecting a child. Rough travel, late in the term of pregnancy, and no place to stay are not a good combination for Mary. Joseph takes what he can get, a stable. There is straw to lay on to soften the ground. It is not an ideal place for A Recipe for a Savior to be completed. But that is the way things go. The Lord had some great plans for that night, the greatest plan was for a baby to be born. Not just any baby but the Savior of the world. He had put into place all that was needed for our salvation. Here, in the stable, the parents find a place to stay, a holy place.

            Situations of life don’t always work the way that you plan. They don’t always go according to your will. There are twists and turns that really throw you for a loop. The challenge is not to shake your fist at God but to bow your head in humble acceptance and ask Him for continued strength and guidance. He has a plan, a “recipe,” for your life. As the time is winding down in Advent, you are challenged to trust in the Lord in whatever “place” you have to stay.

Prayer: Lord, things are not always the way I plan. I have trouble with that. I pray that You would help me to trust in Your guiding hand even when I cannot see it. It might take time for Your recipe to unfold in my life, so help me to stay the course and continue to follow Your will. Amen.

Deeper Thought: When you have been told that there is no place for you or perhaps your place to stay is not quite ready and you will have to wait? How did you react? What areas of your life is your place to stay challenging? What would help you as you work through that difficult time?