Grow where you are planted. This can have a profound effect on your life. Like a flower that grows in the cracks in the road, sometimes we must make the best of our situations and bloom where the Lord has placed us.
Our family lived 2000 miles from where we grew up for almost ten years. In the community where the Lord planted us, we were involved in ministry to the community. This included prayer walks and children’s ministry. We have no idea how many lives were touched as God worked through us.
As you journey through life, every step you take prepares you for the next. As each chapter of your life unfolds, it is a foundation to begin the next chapter. For example, no excellent mystery book jumps to the end right away. Reading each chapter develops step by step until the mystery is solved. Life is not about just getting to the end but enjoying the journey where the Lord has planted you.
Jeremiah Told the People to Grow Where God Planted Them
The Israelites were taken into captivity and would spend seventy years in Babylon. While in captivity, the Lord would refine the people and transform them into different people when they returned to Israel. Part of the transformation process for the people was growing where the Lord planted them.
Jeremiah 29:4 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: 5 “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. 6 Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! 7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” [1]
Where has the Lord planted you? Where is the Lord leading you to make a difference to those around you?
Affecting Others by Your Actions
As Jeremiah encouraged the exiles in Babylon, he wanted them to change their thinking. He wanted them to think about what they could become versus their situation. They were to be model citizens who would positively affect their community. In a spiritual sense, the Lord wanted them to be a light in a dark area.
God wants to do the same for us, which is an interesting parallel. In addition, the Lord wanted them to marry, have families, and pass on their faith so that they would return to Israel one day. Again, isn’t this what the Lord wants for us no matter where we live? Remember that you can make a difference by letting the Holy Spirit lead you.
Grow where you are planted. To learn more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/journey-exiled
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Je 29:4–7). Tyndale House Publishers.