“In whatever situation someone was called, brothers and sisters, let him remain in it with God” (1 Corinthians 7:24, NET).

I have been managing his prostate cancer for 10 years. During that time, his wife left him and all his children moved elsewhere. He loves the Lord deeply. His sister wants him to come live with her in Texas. His daughter wants him to come and live with her in Alabama. “But my goal is to live the rest of my days fully integrated with the Lord,” he said. “I’ve got no family here, but I am serving in my church, and I feel that’s where God wants me to be.”

A question of place.

As long as we live on this side of glory, we seem to be confined to one place at a time, one GPS coordinate from which all our actions must originate. We can move, but everywhere we go we are confined to the place we land. We can send phone signals and FaceTime, iMessages and What’s App messages, but our feet, hearts and hands are stuck where our signal originates.

As followers of Christ, we are often concerned about where we have been placed. We are frequently trying to decide whether some other place may be better than the one in which we find ourselves. We look for a place where our jobs might be more rewarding, or the climate more pleasant, or enjoyment increased, or schools improved, or crime less, or kids living closer.

Sometimes we look at our ministry for Christ and imagine we could serve Him better in a different location—a move might allow us to finally serve Him in the way we’ve dreamed of.

If that is our dream, what can we do now to get there?

The most important step in finding the place where God wants you to serve is to be faithful where you are serving now.

Whatever the circumstances, harsh or pleasant, we are presently in a place where God has a mission for us. Are we completing it well? Are we touching the people He wants us to touch, speaking the words He wants us to speak, serving the needs He wants us to serve in the place where we now find ourselves? Have we built a solid foundation from which God may launch us to the next place He wishes us to serve?

Perhaps, we are in this place to prepare us for that next location of service. Perhaps, our present mission is far more important in God’s hidden plan than the one we might dream of pursuing.

God is the King of Place and has no problem moving us when He chooses—His business, His choice.

Our business and our choice is to faithfully serve where He has placed us now.

Dear Father,

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you where I am. Move me if  you choose.

Amen