Where do you live?
Maybe you’re in a bustling city or a laid-back rural community. Maybe you live somewhere between the extremes, in a town that seems busy some days and silent on others.
Wherever you are, have you ever considered that God set you in that particular place for a reason? That He brought you there for a purpose?
We’re living in God’s land, the territory He has given us.
I started a new Bible study/reading plan in January that intentionally has us reading only one or two chapters each day. Reading smaller chunks at a time has helped me soak things in and mull them over a bit longer. It has also helped me notice small phrases along the way.
One of those phrases jumped out at me in Leviticus 25:1-2:
The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the LORD.” (Leviticus 25:1-2 ESV)
The phrase? “When you come into the land that I give you.”
When God said this, the Israelites were in an in-between place: they were no longer slaves in Egypt but were a long way from arriving in the Promised Land God said would be theirs. They didn’t know what path they would take or exactly what would happen once they got there.
But they knew God had chosen them as His special people and that He was taking them to this new place.
Two things struck me when I read this phrase:
God said “when” they came into the land.
He’s reiterating His promise to take them to a new place (God’s first promise to Abram [Abraham] was in Genesis 12; He followed that by making a covenant with Abram in Genesis 15; His promise to free them from Egypt was in Exodus 6:1-13). The people’s journey from Egypt was long and difficult. The Israelites had times of obedience and joy, and times of rebellion and angst. But God didn’t lead them into the desert to abandon them. He promised to take them to a new land, and the “when” in this verse reminded the Israelites (and reminds us today) that God always keeps His promises.
God gave them the land and sent them there on purpose.
The Israelites wouldn’t end up in the Promised Land by accident and their arrival there wouldn’t surprise God. It was His plan, not theirs. In the same way, God puts us wherever we are for a reason. He gave the Israelites the Promised Land. He gives us homes and communities and churches and workplaces.
Maybe God will give us land (or a situation) to live in for many years. Maybe He’ll keep us there for only a short time before sending us somewhere new. We can’t predict the future, but we can be assured of this:
The place we are is the land God has given us. However long we’re there, we can be His people to those around us.
Here’s to being faith-filled travelers to whatever land God wants us to inhabit.
Your turn: How is God calling you to serve Him in the land where you live? Share your thoughts below and be an encouragement to someone else.
The place we are is the land God has given us. However long we’re there, we can be His faith-filled travelers to those around us. #followingGod #BibleStudy #BibleLesson Click To Tweet
Amen Ms. Leigh. It’s in understand that God plants us where He wants us and He will help us to grow, bloom, and prosper if we allow Him to. Well said ma’am. I’m so blessed to care for a little piece of “God’s Country” near the Red River Valley. A peaceful, mostly quiet place where I can more easily listen for His still, small voice to whisper His guidance.
Mr. JD, your piece of God’s Country sounds wonderful and the ones in your care are blessed to have you. And you’re exactly right — God wants us to grow, bloom and prosper. Sometimes we just need to get out of His way and let Him do His work! Blessings to you, sir! Thanks for stopping by.
Awesome thoughts here, Leigh. We have an assignment to influence the world around us no matter where that is.
Yes, Barbara, we do — even when we don’t understand why we’re in a certain place or get discouraged along the way! Thanks for stopping by — blessings to you!