What roles do timing and location play in our fate and fortune? When purchasing a property, one thing buyers are strongly advised to prioritise is location location location! So, it’s important for property, but what about us? I’ve been reflecting on location recently, and wondering how much influence our location has in God’s plan for our lives. We know that God owns the entire Earth, so does it really matter where we are on the surface of the Earth? Or, is it of such significance that if we are not in the exact place God wants us to be, things start going a bit haywire? In Deuteronomy 33:18 (NLT), “Moses said this about the tribes of Zebulun and Issachar: “May the people of Zebulun prosper in their travels. May the people of Issachar prosper at home in their tents.” Isn’t that interesting? That there were specific places where these two tribes were destined to prosper?

God is a God of order, and for various reasons not fully known to man, God ordained certain places to be where significant events would happen. As such, location is important to Him. The Birth of Jesus is one such example “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting” (Micah 5:2). As such, when the time came for Jesus to be born, even though His parents were not living in Bethlehem at the time, they were in effect compelled to go to Bethlehem. Seemingly by man, Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1-5), but really by God. Because prophecy had to be fulfilled… God’s Word must be accomplished (Isaiah 55:11).

I read an interesting quote recently: “Those satellites up there are subject to all sorts of outside influences. Small changes in gravity, micro objects colliding with it, even temperature changes can all make the satellite move out of alignment.” – Bryan Whelan.

It made me wonder if one can be moved ‘out of alignment’ because of their location. Studying scripture reveals that there are instances when God specifically asked people to change their location. Or times when people chose to move due to various circumstances. What would have happened if they didn’t move though? Only God knows. I’ll attempt to explore a few of these instances in this post, in order to understand this subject a bit better.

Abraham: “The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you” – Genesis 12:1. This journey took him to many places, and led to many interesting encounters. It was not all smooth sailing though. He faced famine, temporarily losing his wife to kings, friction between family workers, all sorts (Genesis 12:10, Genesis 13). This shows that even when obeying God regarding location, we can still encounter challenges. It may not necessarily be smooth-sailing. Abraham’s call involved him stepping out of his current location without knowing where he would end up. Such was his faith in God! There is a reason why he is regarded as one of the heroes of faith. However, God blessed Abraham immensely, a generational blessing to boot (Genesis 12:2-3; 13:2; 26:4; 35:11; Isaiah 51:2). Would he have been a hero of faith and received all the blessings God bestowed on him, if he had refused to move to where God was calling him to? I’ll leave that for you to answer.

Mark 8:22-26 tells the story of Jesus healing a blind man. There is something different about this particular miracle though. Before Jesus healed him, “He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village” (Verse 23). Then after healing him, Jesus “sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village”.” (Verse 26, ESV). Why did Jesus ask the blind man to come out of the village, and then after healing him, ask him not to go back? Was the man’s location important? It must have been for Jesus to mention it. Jesus didn’t routinely ask people He had healed not to go back to their former location. So was Jesus’ request that the man change location done for the man’s sake or for the sake of Jesus’ ministry? We aren’t told, but of course, if we want to walk in line with God’s will, the former should be more important to us. However it is an interesting point to consider, that sometimes God’s choice of location for us may not necessarily be for our sake, but for God’s sake and for the sake of others. This may be worth remembering if we are sure that God has asked us to change our location, but on a surface level, things don’t seem to be better for us. When Nehemiah moved to Jerusalem, it was a sacrificial move – from Persia to Jerusalem, i.e. from the grand king’s court in the ruling empire, to a city in ruins at the time. He relocated to rebuild, not to relax.

Sometimes the need to be in a particular location may be for a moment, not for an extended period of time. Like a footballer who needs to be in the right place to receive a pass and score. This does not mean that they will stay there till the end of the match. In Acts 8:26-40, an angel of the Lord told Philip to go to a certain place. It was there that he met, taught and baptised the Ethiopian eunuch. This was a location-based assignment for a moment in time. He was taken away immediately this assignment was complete. Jonah was also asked to go to Nineveh for his assignment from God. He didn’t want to, and tried going in the opposite direction instead, to Tarshish. But God intervened. The book of Jonah gives the full story, and teaches us that God can be quite persistent when He wants us to go to a specific location. It also teaches us that God is merciful, and when we miss His direction, He can give us another chance. Just like a navigation system can re-route someone from where they currently are, even if they have lost their way, so God can re-route us, even if He has to use a fish!

The story of Naomi is a poignant one. Her husband moved her and their two sons to the country of Moab, because of a famine in Bethlehem, Judah. Sadly, she lost her husband and two sons in Moab (Ruth 1). Can you imagine the heartbreak of escaping hunger only to meet death?

However, this story has a beautiful turn around and ending. God re-routed Naomi from a bitter end to a sweet end. She gained two lovely daughters-in-law, one who followed her back to Judah when she decided to return. An interesting aspect of this story is the importance of not just location, but timing. Naomi arrived in Bethlehem just as the barley harvest was beginning (Ruth 1:22). This was quite significant in the events that unfolded, because it gave Ruth, Naomi’s daughter-in-law, an opportunity to go to the fields and to harvest grain. It was during this process that she met Boaz, a member of Naomi’s husband’s family. Incidentally, unlike Elimelech, Boaz had stayed in Judah. Yet, despite the famine that had taken place, at the time of the story Boaz was a very wealthy man.  Ruth and Boaz got married, went on to become one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, and lived happily ever after 😊.

Should I Go? Should I Stay?

How do we determine the right location for us? How do we know where God wants us to be? We do this by praying and relying on the Holy Spirit for guidance and discernment. The need for this cannot be over-emphasised. It is crucial. If you’ve ever participated in a treasure hunt, you will know that clues can be vital in the quest to find the location of the treasure. Prayer is the master key that enables us to unlock these clues. If we take out the time to seek God’s face, to listen and obey His Holy Spirit, He will instruct us and make sure that we are clued up. In 2 Samuel 2:1, we read an example of David asking God for direction on which town he should move to. David recognised the importance of coming to God first when making such a key decision. God promises that He will teach us the way we should go. “The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you” (Psalm 32:8, NLT).

It is therefore important that we do not just allow circumstances to dictate where we move to. In Genesis 26, we read that there was a severe famine in the land. Previously, when that had happened to Abraham, he moved to Egypt to live there for a while (Genesis 12:10). This time around, God appeared to Isaac, Abraham’s son, and told him not to go to Egypt, but to stay where he was, and he will be blessed. Thankfully, Isaac obeyed (Genesis 26:2-6). Despite the severe famine, “Isaac sowed seed in the land, and that very year he reaped a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him, and he became richer and richer, until he was exceedingly wealthy” (vs 12-13). We learn from this that we can’t always rely on old patterns either. If we trust and obey God, ‘The grasslands of the wilderness can become lush pastures, and the hillsides can blossom with joy’ (Psalm 65:12).

Lot on the other hand, “looked around” and saw a well-watered plain, like the garden of the Lord”, and chose to live there (Genesis 13:10-11). That well-watered, beautiful lush land was Sodom and Gomorrah, a wicked, sinful city. As we know, it eventually ended up as an ash heap (Genesis 19). Lot judged using his physical senses, and well-watered became well-burnt. May we not make the same mistake.

I have a personal testimony of being in a position where I was at crossroads regarding where to move to, and I asked God for a sign. Thankfully, in His mercy, He answered me, and I received a clear sign. Eventually, events following revealed to me the reasons why this was the right decision at the time.

This also means that trust and obedience are essential. The story of Captain Naaman drives this lesson home. Elisha asked Naaman to go and bath in the Jordan River. Naaman got angry and listed some cleaner and ostensibly more sensible suggestions – ‘Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus.’ But where these really more sensible? I’ve touched on this on a previous blogpost. Thankfully Naaman eventually listened to wise advice and heeded to Elisha’s instructions, and he received his complete healing (2 Kings 5:1-15).

God is God everywhere

It is worth remembering that God is God everywhere, in the mountains and in the valleys. The Arameans made the mistake of thinking that God is only a God of the hills and not a God of the valleys. God showed them that He is both! (1 Kings 20:23-28). Psalm 24:1 (NLT) reminds us that “the earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.” We can know and acknowledge that God is God wherever we are.

As long as we are dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, we will abide under the shadow of the Almighty God (Psalm 91:1). However, for us to reap the benefits of the protection afforded by this shadow, we need to learn to live in obedience to God.

Psalm 65:8 (NLT) says that “Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy.” Wherever we are located can be a platform to see and showcase the wonders of God and rejoice in Him.

It is useful to remember that we can serve God wherever we are. God can call us to serve Him in our local communities, or He can ask us to travel far away from home, like Abraham and Jackie Pullinger*. Our call to serve God may not involve travel, but it will certainly involve prayer, trusting and obeying.

I pray that we will learn to seek God’s face when making the key decision of location. May we also receive the grace and strength to obey God’s direction, and to trust Him fully, knowing that no matter where we are, as long as we are in the centre of His will, we are in the right location. No matter where we go to, may we remember the promise our loving Heavenly Father has made to us, that He will never ever leave us nor forsake us.

*A British Christian missionary to Hong Kong.

Image source here.