Are we on the run or do we need fresh vision?
by Paul Lawrence
It’s a funny thing that when we go on holiday or even wander around our own town and bump into people we know, we, or they, often ask the question; ‘What are you doing here?’
The question was asked twice to one man in the Old Testament. ‘Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9). And again the word of the LORD came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ (1 Kings 19:13).
This question can be friendly, but, if one were in the wrong place, the question could seem quite hostile. It may be a question we would have liked to ask Jonah when he was running away. ‘But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord’ (Jonah 1:3).
Sometimes this challenging question is laid down before us by the Lord. Sometimes we are in the right place and the question is not a prompt to make us think that we’re in the wrong place but rather a prompt to make us re-evaluate what it is we’re doing, and why we are there in the first place. A bit of a shake, rattle and stir question.
However, there are times we know we’re in the wrong place and the question is there to stir us up and move us on. There’s a fresh realisation that this isn’t the right place for us and a fresh stirring to seek God’s face and the plans He has for us.
Perhaps there are times when we’ve responded to the question from the Lord in Isaiah 6:8 asking; ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And we’ve said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ However, we have then sat and sat, knowing God has asked us to move. And so a variant of the same question arises from the Lord; “What are you still doing here?”
So today let’s rise to the challenge and boldly face this question before the Lord and ask, “What am I doing here? And maybe, “from what or from whom am I running?”
Prayer: Father unless You build the foundation I build in vain. I want to be in the right place with You, physically and spiritually. Please show me Your will in my situation today. Will You re-ignite me with Your vision and stir me with Your passion. There is so much more and I want to be part of it with You. Amen.
Paul Lawrence is the Centre Director at Ellel Grange, UK and is married to Anne, who is the Deputy Centre Director for the Grange. He has lived in Africa for over 20 years and China for 5 years. His passion is to see the Lord do bigger and greater things in peoples lives that they cannot do on their own, not just in healings but also in the fun things of life. His belief is that nothing is ever big enough and as a team we can achieve anything if the Lord is at the centre.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
