“Let every man, wherein he is called,
therein abide with God.”
“Brothers, let each one remain with God in that condition in which he was
[when he was] called.”
“Stay what you were when God chose you.”
1 Corinthians 7:24
I remember my newly set-free and on-fire self so well! Our youth leader at church had his work cut out to keep me in my well-paid, stable job since I wanted to leave there and then to tell everyone, from Jerusalem to Samaria and everywhere in between, about Jesus.
So, what is wrong with that, you may ask.
Many years ago, I couldn’t understand it myself, and many years later I would find myself in the same trap, this time with hubby closely in tow. Thank the Lord that He considers our motives when our senses have taken a temporary leave and we eventually return to Him.
I now understand that not everyone has been called to go “far”. Sometimes your going is limited to the pancake table at the weekly church bake sale, or the water cooler on the fifth floor of the building where you work, or the teenager that is challenging your very last nerve right now.
Those that are to remain are just as valuable as those that are meant to go.
For if everyone goes, who will stay to share their hope with those that stayed?
In England the yards are fairly small, in general. I can’t help recalling 45 David Street where our home was on one stand, and row upon row of fruit trees, vegetable beds with string beans and tomatoes and potatoes and even a small patch of corn that surrounded the dam being fed by fresh water from a borehole, on the other.
So, the locals came up with a plan. If the yards are too small to allow a decent veggie patch, then we’ll take a huge plot of unused land and rent out pockets of earth that can be worked and planted, and we’ll call it an “allotment”.
Usually there are no fencing between these mini gardens, each boundary is simply respected by its neighbour.
If I am called to go, like Matthew, it does not mean my allocated piece of land is worth more.
If I am called to stay, like Legion, it does not mean my allocated piece of land is worth less.
In Mark chapter 5 we read that Legion was tired of fighting that which was in him. When he was freed from it, he desperately wanted to go with Jesus.
“When Jesus was getting into the boat, the man begged to go with him.
But Jesus would not let him.
Instead, he said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how good he has been to you.”
The man went away into the region near the ten cities known as Decapolis and began telling everyone how much Jesus had done for him.
Everyone who heard what had happened was amazed.”
Mark 5:18 CEV
On 2 May 2019 we started working our piece of land in England.
Today, three years to the date, we often reminisce with wonder how the Lord did not want us to come here any earlier.
If you are called to stay, stay. If that is the will of the Lord, you are exempted from the expectations of others.
Your home ground needs you.
And if you are sent … The Great Land Surveyor will set out your property pins Himself once everything has been prepared.
He will show you which ground needs you.
Your inspiration for the week: You’ve already won
