Do you ever get tired of listening to the same thing on your favorite TV channel or radio station that you just change the channel or station? Sometimes life can be that way. It’s the same thing over and over and at a certain point, you’ve just had enough, and you just want to change the channel.

I wonder if God feels that way sometimes about the things we discuss incessantly. Maybe He would like to change the channel. Maybe He would like us to have some different thoughts. Maybe it’s time for us to change the channel in our minds.

The Lord is impressing upon me that the things He cares about are vastly different than the things that preoccupy our minds.

The Lord has always been concerned about justice for the poor. When the prophets spoke about righteousness and justice – a common theme for the Old Testament prophets – it usually concerned the plight of the poor, the oppressed and the alien.

The other night I had a dream about homelessness, about two homeless people in particular. One was fatherless and the other was from an impoverished country. Could it be that God is more concerned about homelessness than we are? If only we got riled up about homelessness than we do about so many other things, maybe we would actually do something to make a difference.

I don’t want to discuss the causes of homelessness. The alien, stranger and homeless person have a name and a face. They have a story. Each story is unique. Each situation is as different as the people they concern. Each person needs healing from their situation in some form.

I have encountered my share of homeless persons along the way. Their situations are heart wrenching and can be overwhelming. Sometimes it is easier to look the other way and quote Jesus when He said, “For you always have the poor with you.” (Matthew 26:11) However, that doesn’t do anything for the person concerned.

God’s concern isn’t limited to homelessness. However, the Bible does make it abundantly clear the kinds of issues the Lord care about: the poor, the fatherless, the widow, the stranger in our midst, etc. That doesn’t mean He doesn’t care about all the other things in our life, but those that make the Bible’s top 5 may be vastly different than our top 5.

In this season it would be good to consider whether it’s time to get off our hobby-horse. Could it be that God’s hobby-horse is not your hobby-horse?

About what is God speaking to you?
What does He want you to do about it?
How can you partner with God in this season to accomplish what’s on His heart?

. . . and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

By Ralph Veenstra