<FONT face="andale mono"><FONT size="4"><FONT COLOR="purple">This week I am going to take a bit of a different angle and pose some pretty tough questions. The first one is “how did you get where you are?” Think about it for a second. What were the circumstances that got your to the place and time that you are in right now? I mean all of it. Your job, your physical address, your friends, even perhaps the city you live in. Consider all of that for a moment. Now let me ask another, “are you in the middle of God’s will for your life?” Are you in the house He has for you? Do you attend the church that He would have you serve in? Are you at the job that He can use you as a witness to His kingdom and meet His divine appointments? We make changes in our lives from time to time and more often than not we either just do what our flesh wants, or we don’t listen to God when we do ask Him for His advice. How many major changes in your life were made simply to move closer to or in to God’s will? Any? When you moved or changed addresses was it because you felt like God led you there? Or did you change locations because of a job, or relatives, or maybe even moving into a better neighborhood? When you did that, did you stop to consider Gods will for you? How many times have you moved so that you could be close to a particular church? I am willing to bet that finding a church was an afterthought wasn’t it. Sometimes, to get into God’s will, we must move from where we are. Not just physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. Now God is not going to cause unrest and distress by physically uprooting His servants and moving them about the country, but and this is a big one, when the season comes to move, then move closer to God, not closer to “man.” Good jobs are nice to have, a house with a white picket fence is kinda neat too, but make sure it is the one that God would have you in, so that He can bless you. Stop and consider a moment what blessings will be yours when you move into God’s perfect will! Let us look at one example.</FONT c>

The Word
Ruth 1:6 When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. [7] With her two daughters-in-law she (Naomi) left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.

Ruth 2:11 Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband--how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. [12] May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."

Ruth 4:13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.

Ruth 4:16 Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. [17] The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

<FONT COLOR="purple">Reading that we can see that Naomi had nothing, everything in her life had dried up. Earlier in vs. 1-5 you can read that she lost her husband and two sons. Even the land they were living in had stopped producing food. What a difference a move made for her and Ruth! Naomi again had an heir and Ruth became King David’s great grandmother, from who’s line Jesus descended! If they had stayed where they were then it could not have happened like that. Not in just the physical, we are often guilty of not even moving spiritually when it comes time to. God wants to bless us mightily but unless we move into His will then he won’t pour out the fullness of His blessing in our lives. Sometimes though we can even be in the place that God would have us be yet He keeps us going. He causes us to change and move and change and move. He has a reason and He has a plan. If you know that you are in the place that God wants you then you must persevere! Keep trying, it may seem as if it is a failure, but put your faith in the God that brought you there not in yourself. There is much to be said for endurance and faith! You could be smack-dab in the middle of God’s will and you may even touch down here and there before you get to the place that God would have you stay.</FONT c>

The Word
Genesis 26:19 Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. [20] But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek,* because they disputed with him. [21] Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.* [22] He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,* saying, "Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land."

<FONT COLOR="purple">Let me ask you, “are you in the place that God would have you?” “Are you at the spiritual level that God would have you?” “Do you have a job where you can still serve Him?” I am not going to say that it is time to pack your bags, but if you are led by God to do something then by all means obey, your blessings await! Seek God’s will for your life, your job and your church. God is waiting for you!</FONT c>

<FONT COLOR="red">Pray with me: Father, I never thought that I might be outside your will. Lord, send me a clear message of your will for my life. Give me strength to move in to your will. I surrender my life to you Lord, that you may have your way in me. Change me Lord, I want to be in all the places you would have me be, spiritually, emotionally and physically. Make your wishes known to me so that I can obey. I want what you want for me. I want to move into your will, not for the blessings, but for sake of obedience. I thank you for all that you have done for me Father. I praise you and lift you up. In Jesus name. Amen!</FONT c></FONT f></FONT s>


------------------
When God is all you've got; God is all you need!

Men's Ministry Home!

Sign up for weekly Devotional MensHelpDevotional@JESUSaves.every1.net

Send me an email SLattier@JESUSaves.every1.net

<FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">This message has been edited by SLattier on 03-27-2001 at 02:17 AM</font>