Settle Down Where I Have Placed You!

“These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the LORD.

“‘For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.’” [1]

Many of God’s people are afflicted with a spirit of restlessness. I am speaking of redeemed saints. I’m not speaking of church members who are self-deceived. These are people who know God has equipped them to serve where they are now. Yet, a spirit of discontent creates an attitude of restlessness in their soul; they are not content with where the Lord has placed them or they are displeased with what they assess to be the opportunities for service with which they have been presented. And their restlessness creates discontent, causing them to be less effective than they should be.

Perhaps these dear saints are convinced they are destined for greater things, and they think that the service they now provide is an insult to their perceived capabilities. Perhaps they are determined that they have been held back by circumstances, that they are intended for a greater service than what they are now providing. Thus, they have decided that their current place of service affords scant opportunity to fulfil their mission. Perhaps they honestly believe that the Lord has misjudged their abilities, and they are missing out on greater service for which they are better suited. Thus, they miss opportunities to serve the Lord even as their restless soul ensures they have no peace.

What I have just described is a common symptom witnessed among the professed people of God. They imagine that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. And that creates a severe problem among the Zion of our Lord in this day. The late Sam Shoemaker, an Episcopalian bishop, summed up the situation this way: “In the Great Commission the Lord has called us to be—like Peter—fishers of men. We’ve turned the commission around so that we have become merely keepers of the aquarium. Occasionally I take some fish out of your fishbowl and put them into mine, and you do the same with my bowl. But we’re all tending the same fish.” [2]

We Christians in this day late in the Church Age have taken to heart the admonition presented as a public service announcement throughout the decade of the fifties, “Attend the church of your choice.” We choose the church we attend based on whether the church makes demands of our time and our service, based on the quality of the music program—does it entertain us or make us feel good, based on the youth programme—it isn’t really important that few of those young people will participate in the life of the church after they reach sixteen years of age. We choose the church we will attend on everything except whether our presence is in the will of Him Whom we call “Lord.” Consequently, when another religious group makes a more appealing offer, we will quickly move to that group.