lan Warner
Think of the worst places you can be on earth. In a prison cell, on your deathbed, stuck in an elevator, or any other place that your mind can conceive. Don’t mistake thinking that God cannot work in these places. God is not limited by time or by human suffering in any way. He was able to take sinners who killed Jesus for speaking the truth and use it to save humanity from sin. He was able to take the enemy’s best trick, which is murder, and use it against him to raise Jesus from the dead so we can have eternal life through him. You need to grow where you’ve been planted and trust that God can work anywhere.
Grow Where You’re Planted
Philippians 1:12-18
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has served to advance the Gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the Gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
The Apostle Paul is on house arrest and watched by a Roman guard, yet rejoicing because the Gospel is still moving forward. He is excited because God uses his situation to make people bolder to share the Gospel. People see that the Apostle Paul is willing to go to jail for his faith, encouraging them.
The Romans wanted to stomp out the sharing of the Gospel, but instead, God used a negative situation to move the Gospel forward even faster. Paul was faithful right where he was planted. He did not preach about what he would do the second he got out. Instead, he was faithful to writing letters and sharing the Gospel with any Roman guard that had to be chained to him.
He did not look at it like he was in the wrong position, but he saw it as an opportunity to talk about Jesus with someone who had to be stuck with him all day.
What Are You Waiting For to Be Used by God?
Pray for God to use you today. He does not need a perfect circumstance to use you; he needs you to be a good and faithful servant. You have to be ready to submit to his way and understand that you need God in everything you do. When you want to grow where you’re planted, it means you know that you serve a God who is more significant than your circumstance.
You don’t need God to give you more money to be used. He does not need to provide you with that dream job to be used. There is nothing that God has to do to use you. Those are all things you desire, and God may or may not bless you with that, but what he wants more than anything is your heart. God wants to be number 1 in your life. So when he fills that spot, you look to please him before doing anything else. God has given you everything you need.
The Bible says to ask, and it will be given to you. You can go to the word of God and ask for anything that the Bible promises. The Word of God does not promise you $1,000,000, so you can’t expect that. But it does promise you that God gives us purpose, and that purpose is to Glorify him.
Ask God to use you. Tell God you want a greater purpose and that you want to be prepared to do more. God will answer the call because he is not a liar. All his promises come true because God can work anywhere and with anything.
How to Grow Where You’re Planted Knowing God Can Work Anywhere
Here are some practical and biblical tips you can use to be used by God no matter your circumstance.
1. Joy Comes From Jesus and Not This World
Phillipains 1: 21 – To live is Christ, and die is gain.
To live is the chance to live for Christ and please and glorify him, which is fantastic. If you die doing that, you get to go be with him. For the Christian, this is a win-win situation. We know that we will suffer like Christ, so there is no point in being sad about it. Instead, we should be encouraged by the fact that Jesus has revealed himself to us.
When you think about others who don’t know Christ, they don’t get to live for Christ, and when they die, they have no idea where they are going. They will spend their entire lives building up empires that they cannot take with them.
2. Stay in Prayer
Jeremiah 29:12 –Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
Prayer is your best friend. You need to be devoted to spending serious time in prayer every day. The one thing about tough times is that they can often open up our schedules and clarify what is essential. God wants us to pray, so we understand that we are dependent on him. When we don’t pray, it’s because we think we have it under control.
3. Put On The Whole Armor of God
Ephesians 6:10-20
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the Gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
The devil wants to do everything possible to make your ministry ineffective. He does not want to see you spreading the Gospel and glorifying God. When you decide to do this, it angers him, and he uses his dirty tools like doubt, sickness, depression, and many other tricks to pull you back into his grip.
If you want to fight this, you need to fight back with the whole armor of God. This is not a physical battle, but it’s a spiritual battle you need to be ready for.
4. Remember Your Mission And that God Can Work Anywhere
The Great Commission
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Before we can go and tell people about Jesus, we must first learn what he has commanded us. Then, we must come to Jesus on our hands and knees, realizing that we need a savior. We must recognize how weak our flesh is first. Then we begin to build spiritual disciplines like prayer and take reading the Word of God seriously.
After that, we need to listen to the mission placed on our lives and go and make disciples of all nations. Then, we should be confident to tell people to imitate me as I imitate Christ. We should know that we have taken up our cross to follow Jesus so that others can follow us and be more like him.
When a company is starting to lose focus, they always try and point people back to the mission. The same is true for Christians. When you are weary and tired, you can come to Jesus, and he will fill you up and then send you out. Never forget that God can work anywhere.
