God will sovereignly direct your steps and put you in the place of service that He wants--however great or small. He'll take care of the opportunities for advancement, and He'll see to it that the things about which we worry so much will turn out well. For now, though, He's more interested in the fact that you faithfully follow Him in the place where he has you. In the future, He'll continue to draw and redraw the boundary lines the way He wants, but He wants you to be faithful in the boundary lines that He has drawn now. We tend to eye up our neighbor's "property"--whether it be tangible possessions or skills, talents, achievements, friends, or looks. The next time you are tempted to eye up your neighbor's property, think of these land surveys. They were "distributed by lot in Shiloh before the Lord at the doorway of the tend of meeting" (Josh. 19:51). Remember that God has drawn your boundary lines. Given your eternal hope--the fact that your hope in Christ transcends this life--you can say that your boundaries are pleasant. [my italics]
Dean R. Ulrich, "Lines in Pleasant Places: Joshua 15-19"
The Journal of Biblical Counseling 18, no. 3 (spring 2000), 57.
Be where you are now. Stay in the boundary lines God has set for you. You may be hedged in (Hosea 2:6) or in a broad place (Psalm 18:19), but follow Him.
When God redraws the lines, don't be afraid of the change or to change. Be assured it is something better, even if you cannot see it now.
Psalm 16
[16:1] Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
[2] I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
[3] As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
[4] The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
[5] The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
[6] The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
[7] I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
[8] I have set the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
[9] Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
[10] For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
[11] You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
(ESV)
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