“…but I, the Son of Man, have no home of my own,
not even a place to lay my head.”
Luke 9:58b NLT
___

A couple weeks ago, one of my sons asked me what my favorite Bible passage was when I was his age (13). I had to think about it a little bit before answering… 13 was a while back. I ended up telling him about the verse that I’ve held dear for as long as I can remember. My affection for it began before 13 and still holds a special place in my heart.

My “secret” favorite verse is John 11:35, which is only two words long: “Jesus wept.” In two simple words, God shares with us that he understands our pain because he FELT IT. He cried with us. The perfect God, creator of the universe, sent his son to be born into this crazy world and feel all the things we feel without the protection of divinity. He wept as we weep. He felt the crushing pain of grief we feel in our darkest moments.

He gets it.

In fact, he might have understood being human more than even we humans get it. In Luke 9, he references another distressing human feeling: unrest.

“As they were walking along someone said to Jesus, ‘I will follow you no matter where you go.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Son of Man, have no home of my own, not even a place to lay my head.'” (Luke 9:57-58 NLT)

This earth is not his home. He doesn’t have a [physical] place to rest his head. The only rest and recharge he finds is for his soul: his Heavenly Father.

He understands those times where we feel alone, even if it’s when we’re surrounded by crowds of people. He understands the odd, illogical feeling of unrest even when we are blessed with a house and a bed. He knows first hand what we feel as we walk through life in a world that’s not our home. He lived it.

Take comfort, dear friend. In those moments where you struggle to even put words to your discomfort, he hears you and he understands you. Take it to him – he will give you rest and lighten your soul’s burden.

He knows your tears; he shed them too. He knows your unrest; he was restless, too.

___

Dear Lord, if I’m being 100% honest, sometimes I don’t come to you in prayer because I feel like my struggles are immature and foolish. I feel like I should save my prayers for the noble struggles that “make sense.” But you want ALL of me and you understand ALL my struggles because you’ve been through my storms. You’ve felt the pain of this life. I’m so thankful that you were willing to know our struggles so that we could feel comfortable coming to you in all things. Amen.

Photo Credit