Bloom Where You're Planted

In Philippians 4:11, Paul says, "I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances.”

Have you ever been somewhere you didn’t want to be? It may have been a physical location or a stage of your life such as your teens. Or it might have been a marriage, job or other set of circumstances. You may even be there now (I know I am); and you're wishing you were somewhere else living a different life. Ironically, I know that won't happen soon, but still I spend time and mindshare wishing.

It seems that God has something to say to me about this. It’s pretty much what He told the Israelites when they were stuck in another country, exiled from their homeland. They’d determined they were just going to “Wait this thing out, and when we get home, we’ll start living our lives.”

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God told them, “You’re not going home any time soon, so start making your lives here. Plant gardens, buy homes, let your children get married, and pray for the peace and prosperity of the place where you’re currently living because, by doing that, you too will be blessed with peace and prosperity.”

In essence, God was “Bloom where you’re planted.” What a simple message.
I think God meant we aren't supposed to our energy in hopes of leaving; instead invest our energy in the people around us and in the circumstances we find ourselves in. Is that what they mean when people talk about making lemonade out of the lemons we find?

I read something recently where someone was quoted as having said it this way: “Wherever you are, be all there.” Don’t be physically present but mentally somewhere else, thinking of the future or the past, thinking of someplace else. Our journey with Christ requires that we be fully present in the present. Another quote I've read said this about it: “It is only by living completely in this world that one learns to live by faith.”

I see that this kind of focus allows me to get my life centered in God and not the place where I live or work, or the other apparent circumstances of my life. I guess that would even include not how I feel or look. (That's a funny thing to tell someone with a weight problem!)

Investing in the people around us is exactly how we find life though. I've learned that much in my life already. Most of it I've learned in the last 3-4 years. Jeremiah even told the exiles that God had arranged for them to be in exile. So it was God’s plan all along to push them to the edge of their existence, so they would end up centered solely on God.

So what are my prayers when I find myself in a state --- physically or otherwise --- where I don't want to be?

“What do You want me to learn or to do in these circumstances.”
"Who do You want me to be in these circumstances?"
"Help me to see what You see and hear what You hear in these circumstances."
"How can I be a good steward of my present circumstances?"
"Have I been a good steward of my past circumstances? Can I do better?"

Lord, those are my prayers today.