Finding Your Place

In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul encourages us to allow our behavior to line up with our identity, using the place to which He has called us for His glory and honor:
1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.   We have to recognize the hand of God in our lives - He is sovereignly working to orchestrate the events and circumstances of our lives according to His plan...and perhaps even today, He has you in a place where you can be used mightily for Him - as we are surrendered to His will, He will prompt us and prepare the way for us to speak boldly for His name and to act in a manner to calls attention to our Savior within us.   We just have to make sure that we are in that place where He desires for us to be, not walking outside of His will, but devoted to staying in the center of it.
In 2nd Thessalonians 1, the apostle Paul offered a prayer for each of us to fulfill God's call on our lives, walking in His purpose:11 To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will ⁱcount you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I was surprised and disappointed after hearing of the resignation of Jim DeMint of South Carolina from the U.S. Senate - he will assume the leadership role of the Heritage Foundation, which is a leading voice for conservative thought, a voice that incorporates a number of principles based on Biblical truth.   And, while he was quite influential not only in the Senate, but even moreso in helping conservative Republicans get elected to the Senate.

But, now DeMint senses he can be a more influential cultural voice from a position outside Congress.  Here is an example of someone who decided to find his place, which required essentially making a career change.   Former Representative Mike Pence is another - someone who has been strong on values-based issues, but who desired to pursue another position, a new call...and he was recently elected Governor of Indiana.   Several years ago, former Senator from Kansas Sam Brownback made a similar decision - and he was elected Governor of Kansas.   And, he is using that position to advocate for a more Godly state and nation.

Over the weekend, he appeared at an event in which he had been involved in some pre-publicity.  It was called Reign Down, which was the latest in a series of prayer and worship gatherings started in Washington, DC in 2008, and which has spread to other cities, including the state capital of Kansas, Topeka, this past weekend.   In his proclamation of Saturday as a Day of Restoration in Kansas, he asked "every citizen of our state to join in asking a Holy God to bring healing and restoration – help in mending broken lives, bringing peace to our families, our communities, and this land."   In his proclamation, he referenced the faith statements of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and even the secularists' favorite founding father, Thomas Jefferson.   He included the line, "...we collectively repent of distancing ourselves from God and ask for His mercy on us."   And, at the event, he shared about how his personal faith was strengthened after a bout with cancer back in 1995.  

Here's another example of a public figure who has discovered a call from God in public life and has found his place - he is now using that place to call people to repentance in Kansas.   And, of course, he has received some flak from some of those groups such as Americans United for the Separation of Church and State that apparently don't believe public officials have the right to express their personal faith. 

So, what's your place?   Are you using the position to which God has called you for His glory?   Or, is there perhaps another place or sphere of influence in which God wants to use you.   Sometimes that may involve stepping out of the current order of things in your life, maybe undertaking a new work, or depending on God to make you bolder in your present state.   When you are in the center of God's will and totally dependent on His presence and power, it will result in Him using you to communicate His truth verbally and visibly.