Settle Yourself In God's Plan

Sometimes we become so accustomed to our everyday blessings, that we begin to build our lives around our earthly possessions. Earthly possessions do not bring contentment, faith in Christ does.  Below is a great devotional on the matter {found here}.

2 Thessalonians 5:16

“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.”

Stuart and I were halfway through a two-month tour of ministry in Africa. Every four days or so we set off for the next conference, traveling by small plane, car, truck, or even bush taxi; arriving at new compounds; and having every meal with a new family. We slept in different beds, met different bugs, ate different food, and drank different water. All of this did not make for a particularly settled feeling!

The “listening” was hard. Being an outside ear meant we were there to do a lot of loving listening. The new missionaries were struggling with culture shock, relational problems, the absence of mail for eight weeks at a time, or the unsafe feeling of living miles away from a hospital (one country didn’t even have an ambulance!). They needed someone to talk to.

There were desperate needs on every hand—lepers, crippled children, ignorance, and apathy. Add to this the militant march of Islam and you get the picture. This was certainly not the sort of environment to make anyone feel secure.

But watching and listening to those missionaries, I learned home isn’t a little box in a safe subdivision. Being settled isn’t a car in the garage, membership in a club, or even model children making model grades. Being fulfilled does not consist of a husband’s climb up the corporate ladder or paid vacations to Hawaii!

Home is the will of God, and if you are settled into His will, you will be settled into whatever way-out situation you find yourself. The God of Peace will see to that!

By Jill Briscoe

Images via here