Place, Process, Position – 3 phases in the dealings of God.
God had Hannah’s consent to bring up her son, Samuel, as He wanted. As soon as the child was weaned they brought him to the Tabernacle, he never knew any other place.
‘So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he shall be given over to the Lord’. And he worshipped the Lord ‘THERE’. 1 Samuel 1:28
The first step in Samuel’s young life was separation from his biological parents to the PLACE where God was worshipped in the heart of His people. Samuel was ‘taken from a home’ and separated onto God (same thought as holiness). It’s interesting that though Shiloh was God’s Place for Samuel that there was a lot of wickedness there. God kept the young Samuel in the midst of the wickedness until He removed those responsible. We should never knowingly expose ourselves to evil as that will be dangerous for our souls;
And if He rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) – if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials. 2 Peter 2:7, 8, 9
Lot chose the wrong environment for himself and his family and had to flee for his life, losing his wife on the way.
Joseph was separated from his family at an early age, taken down to Egypt and thrown into prison. He reconnected with his family a long time later and rescued his father and brothers and their children from the severe famine that gripped the land.
Moses lived in two places, in Pharaoh’s Palace and then a hasty escape to the desert for 40 years. God had to uproot him and remove him from all he knew. He eventually came back to deliver Israel from their bondage after a long time of waiting before God.
We may be asking today why isn’t God using me (I’m sure Joseph and Moses did). Maybe we need to ask are we in the right place? It may not be a geographical location, it might be part of a ministry or group of believers. God has things to teach all of us, that’s the Process Part, usually humbling and serving. Never be afraid to serve because ultimately it’s all to Him and He sees our hearts.
God prepared the land of Israel for His people and He’s bringing them back into it in our day. They didn’t choose their own place, they were led there (Lot’s own choice almost led to disaster). We don’t know enough to choose our own way, we need His place, more especially in these days.
Some of Jesus’ last words to His disciples, ‘I go to prepare a place for you’. The Lord’s preparing a place for us for eternity, shouldn’t we trust Him for the time we’re here on earth. When Anne and I were married a few years ago, a gracious American lady, told us, ‘our lives would be a great adventure’. May I encourage you to seek God’s Place and sign up for your God inspired adventure.
God bless and keep you today.