Day 2: The Manger (Make Room for God)

No Room At The...Youth Camp?

I spent a good chunk of my late teens/twenties as a volunteer youth leader, and eventually a youth pastor. I couldn't have imagined any other way to spend those years - in fact, God often still calls me to minister at youth events around the world, and there's nothing like seeing a young person have their lives healed and wrecked (in the best way) by God. He loves to interrupt a young person's life with the hope, the peace, the purpose that they've been longing for.

At a youth camp one year, we were pushed for space. Every cabin throughout the site was full to capacity with excited teenagers or exhausted youth leaders. As an introvert, all I could think was, 'I'd do anything for my own space right now!' So I went for a wander and discovered the storage space for the gym equipment. I took one look at the stack of red gym mats amongst the dodgeballs and cricket bats and thought - 'This is perfect.' In reality, it was literally a large cupboard which smelled of sweaty socks and was overflowing with sports equipment, but it seemed like heaven to me! I laid my sleeping bag out on top of the stack of plastic gym mats, and the quiet was exactly what I needed to show up well for the youth that weekend.

No Room At The Inn

I might have stayed a few nights in a gym equipment cupboard, but God was born in a stable and laid in a manger when there was no room at the inn. I can't imagine a stable was the cleanest, most organised place to have a baby. The innkeeper had run out of room, and probably wasn't prepared to host people in the animal stable - but he made room anyway. He wouldn't have felt prepared. In reality, he was probably a little overwhelmed with the census creating high demand for accommodation, a bit stressed (at least, I would have been), and maybe a tad guilty for putting a pregnant woman into a barn. But Jesus still wanted to come into the middle of the innkeeper's chaos and 'mess.'

Isn't this just like God? Often, we feel like we want or need to 'sweep out our stable' (life) before we welcome Him to rest in the manger of our heart. After all...surely God doesn't want to be in the middle of the soiled straw (sin) and animals wandering around (chaos) and noise (distraction). Wouldn't He want to be in a tidy, regal, orderly environment?

But Jesus just wants to enter into our hearts this Christmas, whether we feel like we've had time to prepare well for His arrival or not. The King of the Universe, being born in a messy stable and placed to rest in a humble manger, shows us that.

Your Life Today

Do you feel like you are telling God to 'wait at the door' before coming into an area of your heart, until you've had a chance to clean up and prepare properly for His arrival?

He is not afraid of our mess. In fact...His presence can help with what feels broken or shameful. ❤️