Where You Live - and Why

In Philippians 4, Paul underscores the importance of contentment - here is a man who was called by God to a variety of cities and many circumstances, not all of them positive, but He trusted in the Lord through all of them:
11b I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

He wrote to Timothy that godliness with contentment brings great gain.  God is calling us not to be restless or to be controlled by dissatisfaction, but He wants us to find our peace in Him.  As we trust Him with our lives and are confident of His presence with us, we can joyfully submit to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  He is the One who walks with us, who establishes our steps and brings us into a good place with Him.

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God wants us to be content in Him in the place to which He has called us. Hebrews 13 reminds us about how we can trust Him to guide our lives:
5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
6 So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"

How long have you lived in the city where you currently reside?  And, why are you there?   I'm not sure how often we think about why we ended up where we are, but I do know that God has a purpose for the place to which He has called us.

The Barna Group has done a survey that studied the relationships of adults relationships to their cities and towns: where they live, why it’s important to them and how they ended up there. Most American adults - 59% - either never plan to move or aren’t sure if they ever will. But, at some point they decided where to plant their roots. So, Barna asked questions such as: what was it about that place that drew them in the first place?  And, why do people live where they live—and what keeps them living there?

The study shows that 45% of Americans make a home for themselves in suburban neighborhoods, and the summary states:

...although factors shift in importance according to life-stage, the most consistent characteristics that make a place special or unique to people are relational.  Factors like “family” and “friendships” dominate the data, while “work” and “entertainment”—although more relevant earlier in adulthood—become less central to one’s sense of place as life goes on.

25% of adults describe where they live as “urban” and slightly less - 24% - say they live in a “rural” area. The study points out that life stage plays a key role in where Americans call home: The younger people are, the less likely they are to live in an area described as “rural.” And, as the summary states: "Education, work opportunities and attractive lifestyles in cities like Washington, DC, and New York have long drawn younger generations away from rural communities and toward the glitz of the big city—and fewer and fewer young adults are returning once they leave."

And, large, urban centers tend to be the most unchurched cities - for instance, in San Francisco, 44% of residents have not been to a religious service in the last six months. Boston is at 40% and New York City at 38%. Cities in less populated regions are among the most churched: Birmingham, where 67% have been to a religious worship service in the last six months, Baton Rouge and Salt Lake City, at 62%.

It does appear that mobility in the United States has declined over the long term, but Millennials are significantly more likely than older generations to say they plan to move in the short-term.

Roxanne Stone, a vice president at Barna Group and the lead analyst on the study, provided some analysis, saying, “Places are where we build families, create communities and make memories. They contribute to our sense of self, helping us to understand who we are and where we came from."  She adds that, “Churches and ministry leaders in particular, should pay attention to the significant pull that relationships have on people...Relationships are the primary reason people live where they live. Although factors shift in importance according to life stage, the most consistent characteristics that respondents in the Barna survey pointed to as making a place special or unique were relational."

There are several concepts to consider here:

Where you live is important.  The city or area in which you reside can become a "home base" for ministry.  And, if you are dedicated to seeking God, you can be confident that He does have a purpose for you there.  So, we can be challenged to seeking out a purpose in the place.

Even if someone else - a company or the military - has determined that you are going to live where you're living, you can know that God wants to use you there.

And, you may be in a position where you've ended up in the place you're in as the result of straying from the will of God.  You hear stories of people who have awakened at some point and know they are not where they're supposed to be.  I think of the story of the prodigal son, who decided that after drifting from his father's house, woke up and decided to return.  You can depend on the God of restoration to get you in to the right place - and in the meantime, to even work through your life where you are.  You may even be in the "right place" for you now, even though you got there in a period of rebellion.

I do believe that God calls us to be content, wherever we are - restlessness can lead to rebellion.  If we're thinking that the "grass is greener" somewhere else and are looking for the next big break or have allowed ourselves to become dissatisfied to the point of anger and frustration, it's important that we turn to the peace of God and allow Him to stabilize our thoughts and our emotions.   He wants us to live - spiritually speaking - in a place where we are abiding in Him, content in our walk with Him.