Bloom Where You're Planted

Jesus looks for you at the place of your responsibility (Vallotton). Fishermen became fishers of men. An Egyptian prince became the leader of a displaced nation. A shepherd boy became the king of Israel. A diligent, hard working widow became the ancestor of the Son of God. God did not play ‘eenie meenie miney mo’. He actually saw them in their everyday-ordinary-right-now lives and said: I see that heart.

What you have experienced and gone through has not been for nothing; rather think of it this way, it has been the building and strengthening of your testimony. And in the places that were once or are still desert, barren, and unfruitful, will become lands to which you will have the authority to go into and the wisdom in knowing how to change the environment. This comes from you being faithful in these unglamorous, typical, beige, ordinary times that give you the height to reach into the remarkable. So be faithful in what God has given you.

It’s that saying, bloom where you are planted, that I always hated. I have wanderlust in my blood. Not like some people, but it’s there and it’s always doing somersaults in the back of my mind. In my restlessness and pursuit of that which I desire, this saying would come and sit like an unwelcome reminder in my head. But, the revelation I avoided eye contact with for years is that first I need to be responsible for the things He has given me right now before the dreams of the horizon with take effect. He looks for me at the place of today, not tomorrow. He see’s how I function and act and respond to the situations around me. Friends, this isn’t a new revelation. However, it’s relevant.

Jesus shared this with His zealous and eager disciples – the Parable of the Ten Minas (Luke 19:11-27): A man of noble birth went to be appointed king and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas (1 mina is 60 shekels or $21.00 CAN). ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ When the man returned, the first servant had increased one mina into ten. ‘Well done, my good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities!’ The second servant came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ To this servant, the man gave five cities to run. Another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man.’ The master replied, ‘I will judge you with what you have done. Wicked servant! You didn’t even put the mina in the bank to gain interest! Instead you hid it. Give this mina to the man who has ten because I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.

More happens in this parable, and what I’m about to say doesn’t focus on the good advice of investments and interests. Rather it is this: God gives you responsibility regardless of how you see it, and He wants you to be a good steward of it. The Lord see’s how we handle and respond to what He entrusts us with – that might be a family or a job or a ministry. While the first two servants had a monetary return due to the fact that they were obedient regardless of the shadow of loss or fear, and ultimately used what the master had given them for good. The last guy sometimes reminds me of me, just sit on it, be safe, don’t breathe, hide, and ‘wait upon the Lord’.

Did you know what the word ‘wait’ in Isaiah 40:31 actually means? Waiting on the Lord is not sitting around doing nothing and pining about all the things you want to do or places you want to go. Waiting in the Greek actually means to go through trials, testing, to be twisted and refined, and to endure tension. Not sitting around with your responsibilities hidden away - untouched, unused, unengaged. While you may be waiting for Jesus to make the first move, He is actually waiting for you at your place of employment, in your home, at your church, and desiring to bless you for your good works, which will double and quadruple from the portion He has blessed you with. So in the waiting, we actually gain the strength of the Lord for the next level. Realistically though, this place of waiting for you may be a desert, a dead end no joy job, a difficult relationship, a taxing position, but listen.

How many times do we just pitch our tent at second best? How many times do we just settle to sit on our gifts because we are too afraid to be open and vulnerable with them? How many times to do we forgo the blessing because we just succumb to the desert times and choose to live in the pity and doubt and worry and offense and frustration? God actually will call us into the desert to speak tenderly to us, to get us away to rely fully on him (Hosea 2:14).

I was listening to a sermon on the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, and my heart snagged on the part of their 40-year walk around the desert. Imagine over 2 million people wandering for 40 years!? That blows my mind. Now, we read that the reason for that was pertaining to all their grumbling at God for various things. They were immature in a sense and were definitely not ready to enter and take the promise land. Instead, the had to go through the ‘waiting’ season – not just to sit and bum around – but, to prepare themselves for victory – to shake off the 400 years of captivity that hung over their lives.

It is interesting to think that the only thing they knew how to do really well was to build. They were captives forced to be builders, bricklayers and makers, and treated probably no better than the animals they used to haul the building supplies around. The Israelites were trained to settle (down), to make houses, not wage war and defeat those who were occupying their promised lands. So, as much as wandering for decades would be awful, God gives them a ‘grace period’ – definitely not what the Israelites would have called it. God gives them the time to equip themselves to take the land of their fathers. They actually needed 40 years of desert time to train an army, to learn how to function and pursue God, to make weapons and defend themselves. Of course, more important to God was the need for this desert time to break off the yoke of oppression from His people. This waiting time, testing time, and refining time was to get the generation of grumbling out and the generation of Joshua’s and Caleb’s in. They had to get their act together and remove the culture of slavery, to push the mindset of settling and apathy out. It only takes one generation to fall away from God and the bible clearly gives us examples in Amalek (Abraham’s great grandson) who was the leader of the Amalekites (enemy of Israel. Deuteronomy 25:17), Cain (Adam’s son), Rehoboam (Solomon’s son), and so on. And this 40 year (generational span) brought the nation of Israel closer to God.

If the Israelites were ready (humble, focused, joyful, etc.) to cross the Jordan River (and by the way, the Jordan River compared to the Red Sea is like a toothpick to a tree) straight out of Egypt, they would have seen the Lord work on their behalf and clear the way for them I’m sure. But, instead, they functioned out of a place of complaining and got a long time-out. I just want to interject here, a thought for those of you that are 'planted' in ground that is unsafe or abusive or 'dead'. I pray wisdom for you to know the difference between what I am talking about and what you are going through. Blooming is a choice, but it is also a responsibility - to answer and be accountable for something within one's power, control, or management. Sad and horrible things happen, and just like the Israelites, they needed to be set free from slavery in order to step into responsibility and victory. But, it is your choice whether to remain captive after you have left the prison.

A lovely woman named Mother Teresa once wrote, “Be faithful in the small things because it is in them that your strength lies… Not all of us will do great things. But, we can all do small things with great love.” The first two servants had proven that they could increase the wealth of the master that they could exercise their talents and gifts without the master telling them what to do at every single decision. In truth, these two most likely knew the master’s heart and had watched and learned from him, knowing his ways and how he did business. In return, they went from being servants to being rulers. Joshua and Caleb arose from the ashes of a defeated mindset and became the next leaders of the nation of Israel. They shifted the conversation from fear to victory, from defeat to hope, from worry to praise. In the same way, do not misjudge the hours you work at McDonald’s or in a cubical as wasted time or as a parent buried under mountains of laundry or laying sick in a hospital bed. Jesus is there. He hears what you say and knows what you do – Jesus see’s your good works and the glory that it will bring to the Father in Heaven. He is working with you in your home, He is aware of what is going on at Church. Jesus loves you regardless of how you have been approaching life these last few weeks or years. You see, God does not only redeem the years we did not know Him or fought with Him, He actually will use those years to bring Him glory.

So, Friends, arise and shine (Isaiah 60:1-2)! Arise in the Greek means to stand up, get up, and be present. Shine means to be awakened and to let out what is inside of you. No matter where you find yourself and what responsibility lies before you, get up and let what is in you out for all those around you to be affected and see the glory of the Lord. This glory is not ‘merely’ the Shekinah or cloud of glory, but the glory of the Lord in person – in relationship with us; in community with us. The person who has the most hope adn joy for your tomorrow is Jesus. He see’s you; He loves you, and knows your heart and your desires. Be patient, be hope filled, and be awakened to a deeper understanding of His heart towards you.