Life since boot camp has been… interesting. Knowing what I’m missing out on and knowing what I have to look forward to has been hard. The depth of community that I will be with in my race is incredible. I was only with those people for 3 full days but it feels like I’ve known them for years, how insane is that? The life change I saw, the power of the Spirit I felt, and just the excitement of this dream becoming real are now in the future. I felt those things for a week and then it was time to go home, it was all gone. Entering back into the normal world has been hard. God calls us to be IN the world but not OF the world. Once you finally embrace and live that out, you feel out of place, like you don’t belong. However, this is normal. When you are just in a place but not of the place you are in, you will never feel like you fully belong. That is the life that God has called us to live out.
My first Wednesday back in Texas at my youth group, I was explaining this feeling to one of my good friends who is also about to head off to a new stage of life. He responded by simply saying “I feel you man, growing where you planted is hard”, and just like that I found clarity in what I was feeling. God plants us in places in accordance with his plan not for us to stay stagnant in hope of a future life but for us to grow in the place he has us.
This was one of the cliches that stopped me right where I was and forced me into a state of questioning. Was I staying stagnant here in Texas or was I growing where God had planted me? The truth behind his words were so profound. Be content with where you are right now and let God do the growth in you that he desires. Don’t be so focused on the next step or the next place you want to go that you lose track of what God has placed right in front of you.
I think that Phillipians 4:11-13 says it best, it says:
“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
To me this brings up the 2 most important things about growing where you are planted:
Firstly, be content in everything that you do. Being content is a Christian “buzz topic” nowadays. We often talk about it whenever we are unsatisfied with life, frustrated with where we are, or can’t change the situation that we are in. Only then do we use this verse from Phillipians. Paul truly knew what it meant to be content no matter what came before him. He was born into a wealthy family and given the best opportunities that money could buy. However, he also knew poverty, persecution, and tragedy. Through all of life’s events, Paul learned to be content in everything he faced.
Secondly, do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Many times we say “I can do all things through Christ” but then we neglect the fact that this is ALL things, not just the good or enjoyable things in life. If our faith is based on using God to get ahead, we will go through seasons in our life where nothing seems to be happening. It is in those low times where God tries to teach us to be content in everything. He wants us to stop focusing on the next even though we are in a world that is only focused on the future. Our world today is always looking for the next innovation, the next leader, the next war, the next job, the next, the next, the next but again God calls us to be IN the world not OF the world. He wants us to trust him in all circumstances, not just the good ones. It is easy for us to fall into the trap of only trusting God when things are good because we feel good and then to shut him out when things get hard because we feel bad. He is asking that you give all of yourself to him, not just the parts of you that you want to give to him. He wants us to embrace the place where he has planted us because he has placed us here for a reason.
Though this season of waiting is coming to an end in just under 2 weeks, I truly feel as though I have grown where I have been planted in this time. These words are not just for those awaiting a new change in life but even for those who seek a change or even for those who do not wish for change to come. I have learned a lot through this season of waiting and here are a few challenges I have for those of you who are struggling to grow where you are planted:
Learn to be content first and then allow God to help you in the growth he has for you. Allow yourself to fully submit your life to God which will lead to full trust in him. Finally, do everything you do, even the menial things, for Christ and through Christ.
