It is here, not there!

Steve and I recently went on a vacation. Because of my love for the east coast we chose to visit Vermont. Fall is my favorite season and where better to enjoy it’s beauty but in New England. Although we arrived a bit early for all the Fall glory, we were not at all disappointed. The leaves were just beginning to change and the temps were mild. Just what us Californians appreciate. We hiked our way to some lovely waterfalls and bought ourselves some Vermont maple syrup. We enjoyed good food and a local coffee spot. They saw my face every morning of our trip. As per usual Steve and I went to church and were so blessed to spend our Sunday with other Christians. This all sounds idyllic doesn’t it? But this post is not about our lovely vacation. Rather, I want to share a truth that the Lord has taught me over the decades. A truth I must learn again and again.

I’m sure most of us our familiar with the saying, “the grass is always greener on the other side.” Simply put, we humans tell ourselves that peace, joy, fulfillment etc can be ours if we were somewhere else. Our internal dialogue is always nagging at us that the real living is not here, but over there. Wherever, whoever, or whatever it is for each of us only God knows.

Acts 17:26 tells us ” And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed time and the boundaries of their habitation.”

Paul preached to the men of Athens the sovereignty of the one true God. This is a theological fact seen throughout the scriptures. But this serves as a foundational principle that must govern the life of the believer, mine included.

It was Elisabeth Elliot who said, “To love God is to love His will. It is to wait quietly for life to be measured by One who knows us through and through. It is to be content with His timing and His wise appointment.

I must confess the number of times I have mused over the possibilities of the “if only” scenario’s. Yet the scriptures always bring me back to reality. If I can’t allow God to conform to the image of His Son here, it won’t happen somewhere else. Why? Because I take myself with me wherever I go. And it is the self life that needs to be buried for Christ to live in me. The greener pastures and quiet waters can be known. But only when I am submitted to the all-wise all-loving God in the very circumstances I am placed.

As A.W Tozer puts it, “we travel an appointed way.” Can I trust God that He knows what He is doing? Or will I always be wresting and striving with the imagined scenario?

O Lord, give me a whole heart to live to do your bidding right where I am with all that I am. Amen!