Lessons of Humble Stables and Smelly Mangers

“She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” –Luke 2:7 

Imagine Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. They’re exhausted, Mary has gone into labor, and all the rooms in town are taken. Did they kick themselves for not getting there a day or two earlier? As they were turned away from one full inn after another, they certainly prayed, “God, help us find a place to stay!” Did they hope for a miraculous ‘last-minute cancellation’ that would give them a room? They trusted that God would provide for them; did they wonder why He didn’t intervene?

God, in His wisdom, wanted to use the circumstances of Jesus’ birth to teach us the holiness of humility. Jesus was born in a humble stable and laid in a smelly manger to unite Himself with the poorest of the poor, to prove that all people are precious to Him, regardless of their wealth or status. Mary and Joseph might not have realized this at the time, but they did trust that even the stable was part of God’s plan. Who knows? Maybe in Bethlehem there was another family praying desperately for lodging, and God’s plan was to let them experience the miracle of a ‘last-minute cancellation.’ Maybe their experience increased their faith in Him and brought them a joy they had never known before.

Have you ever asked God to help you, to take away a particular struggle, and you felt like He wasn’t listening because you didn’t see a change? Jesus’ birth in the stable shows us that, sometimes, God doesn’t intervene because He has a better plan. He knows the lessons He wants to teach us through our own ‘humble stables’ and ‘smelly mangers.’ Maybe one experience taught you that what needed to change wasn’t your situation but your attitude. Or maybe, when you trusted our Lord to provide for you and you followed the ‘gut feelings’ He gave you as to what steps to take next, you found a new course of action; maybe that experience took you on a path closer toward Him. Maybe you looked honestly at the messiness in your own heart and gained a new, humble perspective that softened how you relate to others.

The stable and manger became holy because the Son of God dwelt there. This Christmas, invite Jesus deeper into your heart. Let Him make holy the ‘humble stable’ of your day-to-day experience and the ‘smelly manger’ in your heart. Trust that He will use them to bring His Love, Peace, and Joy to the world.

Merry Christmas!

“Lord, come into my heart!” 

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Faith Is Power

  “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” –Luke 17:6

Imagine:  trees uprooting themselves and moving to another location. That’s impossible! Yet Jesus’ point is that, when we put our faith in Him and His loving power, what we think is impossible can become possible. What do you wish was possible? Maybe it’s to break out of a cycle of sin or forgive that particular someone – including yourself? Maybe it’s overcoming an addiction, finding gainful employment, or being healed? Whatever it is, ask God for His grace and power to help you make it happen.

Faith gives us courage to believe the promises of Christ. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Believe that God loves you and wants you to spend eternity with Him! Believe that Christ made that possible through His own death and resurrection, which proved that Love is more powerful than the evil that tried to destroy Him.

Faith helps us trust God, knowing that His ways are not our ways. We may ask God for greater faith and then seek out His wisdom. As Augustine of Hippo said, “I believe so that I may better understand. I understand so that I may believe.”

Faith doesn’t solve all our problems for us, and having faith doesn’t mean we’ll never worry. Think of Mary and Joseph traveling for a day toward home from Jerusalem and then discovering that 12-year-old Jesus wasn’t with the large group (see Luke 2:41-50). Of course they were worried! They were also proactive: they asked their fellow travelers if anyone had seen Him and then went back to Jerusalem to look for Him. They certainly asked God to protect Him and guide them to Him. After a few days they found Jesus in the temple, conversing with the rabbis. He was surprised they had worried: ‘Didn’t you know I was right here the whole time?’

Imagine Christ saying to you, “Follow their example. When you’re worried or struggling, come to Me. Trust that I’m always here, right beside you. Have faith in Me and My love for you. I want you to know true joy; I want to ease your burdens. Ask Me to show you the next step. Let Me pour My wisdom, strength and courage into your soul. Let Me fill you with My peace.”

“Lord, I believe in You. Increase my faith. Help me trust in Your loving power so that, with You, I can do the impossible.”

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