Get Out

Matthew 8:20 (ANIV) 

Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

If it's not totally irresponsible to those close to you, sleep rough tonight. Discover what it is like to be homeless, even for just one night. You may want to do this with a friend or two. You will learn more and perhaps your heart will be softened more in 8 hours than in a month of seminars on the subject. The cold, the loneliness and the vulnerability are merely concepts until you experience them.

On an earthly level, Jesus was homeless, but he was also displaced from his real home with his Father. Again Jesus shows His identification with those on the fringes of society. Tonight you are identifying with millions of displaced people across our world who for various reasons have no roof over their heads, whether it is refugees from war in sub-Saharan Africa, street children in Central America, or the folks in your own town whose stories you only half believe.

Spend your sleepless moments praying for these situations. You may also want to identify with another sleepless night of prayer that of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He may ask us, Could you watch and pray with me for but a few hours to kneel alongside the broken and dispossessed of my world?

Reproduced with permission from God360 - experiential devotionals - the new book by Andy Flannagan, published by Spring Harvest/Authentic media - www.god360.co.uk