Homeless, but not forgotten...

Homeless, but not forgotten...I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Genesis 28:15

Originally posted on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 3:44 PM

 
Genesis 28:15, "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
 
God's time to visit His people with His comforts, is, when they are most destitute of other comforts, and find no other comforters.
 
This reminds me of a homeless man who was laying on the cold concrete of an abandoned service station.
He was laying flat with his small bag of belongings near him.
 
It was mid day on a Saturday. There was a lot of traffic at the intersection and it was apparent that nobody took notice of this man seriously enough to offer him a helping hand - a blanket, a few dollars for a meal or even a warm place to spend the night - a shelter out of the cold and a warmer place to lay down and rest.
 
I am reminded of the journey that Mary and Joseph were on the night that Jesus was born.  They were traveling and needing a place to stay, a warm  shelter for the night, but there was no room for them at the inn where they stopped.  What would they do? Where would they go in their time of need? 
 
In thinking of the homeless man and Joseph and Mary and the birth of Jesus, I am reminded of a particular promise of God in Genesis 28:15. "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
 
You see, God's time to visit his people with his comforts, is, when they are most destitute of other comforts, and find no other comforters.
 
And isn't it during these times that we are seeking God?
 
We all know from the story of the birth of Jesus that Joseph and Mary were taken to a stable, a warm place, where they were made comfortable in the straw with the company of the animals that lived there. 
 
It was there that baby Jesus was born.
 
Joseph and Mary and Jesus weren't alone for long, however, because Jesus was born the Son of God, a Savior of mankind and God had placed a very bright star shining above that stable - announcing the birth of His Son, a precious new life - the Christ child.
 
I don't know what lies in store for the homeless man laying out in the cold, ignored by the busyness of our society today or the coldness of the hearts of people, as they decide that the homeless must be deserving of such a life. 
 
But,  I pray that this man touches the hearts of many.
 
Even if they do not stop to offer a helping hand - a blanket, a dollar or a kind word,  I pray that their heart is touched, and tendered with the knowledge that someday this could be their own fate. 
 
Most homeless people had a life once with a job, a family and  nice warm home to go to at the end of the day. But, do to an illness, loss of a job or tragedy, their life was changed forever. 
 
Our Father in Heaven tells us: "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
 
It is my prayer that we will all be believers in His word, desiring to share this message of God with those who are less fortunate than we are - with the homeless, the hurting, and the lost.
 
There is always hope for a better tomorrow. 
 
It is God's promise to each of us when we put our trust in Him.
 
Psalm 118:8 says to put our trust in Him...Jeremiah 29:11 promises to prosper us and not harm us... and Genesis 28:15 shares the wonderful Word that He never leaves us and will bring us back to the land that He has prepared for us. 
 
What a wonderful God we have!
 
 Because of the birth His Son, of Our Savior, Jesus, who was born for the purpose of love,  to live as a man and to die for the sinfulness of mankind - we can surely believe that our lives are meant for loving as He did, for helping and for providing hope to those in need.
 
Just as Our Father in Heaven provides for us, I believe we are to walk in His glory and light sharing the prosperity He has given us, with those less fortunate - those homeless, such as the man sleeping on the street, as well as those who are sick and dying, those who are searching for something more - for that fulfillment that only comes from knowing our God through His son, Jesus Christ.
 
It is through the times of trial that we seek God earnestly and come to know Him more.
 
 It is through these times that He carries us  and no matter how long or difficult the journey is, His promise to each of us is that we will be brought out of the trial and into His blessing. 
 
We must remember to keep our focus on Him, never letting the circumstances of the world come before our faith in His promise to us.
 
My prayer for today is that we love those we meet and meet them with Hope for a better tomorrow- lending a hand and walking in the footsteps of Jesus, who was born and died so that we may live.
 
Jesus seemed to be forsaken of all his friends, just as the homeless man; but let us know that God gave Jesus and the homeless man the same assurance: "... whom God loves, He never leaves."
 
The homeless man may appear to be abandoned in this world, but in Our Father's world, he is a precious child whom  - in time will be carried out of his trial and into God's glory.  
 
Blessings to all and praise to Our Father in Heaven, Amen.