Ever Changing Work

“At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place.  The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them.  But he said, ‘I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to other towns also, because that is why I was sent’” Luke 4:42-44.

My sister-in-law whom I adore has spent her entire adult life moving from one city to another.  Her husband has a wonderful job and has been blessed to advance in his company.  The downside has been the many people to whom they had to say goodbye, the wonderful schools from where they had to withdraw their children and the great communities of which they were involved.  They have moved six different times all requiring them to start over…it was what was required to advance his job.

Jesus understood this concept better than anyone.  He would work wherever God instructed Him to work, and would depart from one work to move to another.  He would remain as a teacher, mentor and healer until the nudging of the Holy Spirit directed Him to another person…another group…another location.  God places us in spheres of influence to do His work…not our work.  He bases our relationships on the needs of His kingdom, not our needs.  Through our focus on His message we ‘bloom where He has temporarily planted us.’ We serve, we listen, we encourage and we love just as Jesus did.  We are to be essential where God has determined we will be essential.  When He is ready to move us on to other people, groups or ministries, we must allow ourselves to be moved…to be advanced…to be essential in a new sphere of influence.  We must be like Jesus. 

I don’t think for an instant that it was easy to Jesus to walk away from those with whom He had shared amazing miracles.  As He reclined with friends knowing full well that His time was not about leisure and luxury, but about advancing the message and good-byes.  He stayed surrounded with a few precious friends, but for the most part He lived His life on the move.  He moved from miracle to miracle, person to person and town to town.  He couldn’t look back to see the things He was required to walk away from for He knew it would distract His future advancement. 

We must all thank God for the blessings of those people, groups, and ministries that He allowed us to be a part of and focus on the future relationships where we can advance His kingdom.