‘Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.’Genesis 2:8 NIV
God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He wanted them to be there, and to thrive there. And we too will thrive when we’re where God wants us to be. Jonah decided not to go to Nineveh and preach because he didn’t like the people who lived there. Helping them was the last thing he wanted to do, so he decided to run from his God-given assignment in Nineveh. As a result he ran into a storm, caused misery and loss for everyone on board the ship, and hit rock bottom before he finally got to where God wanted him to go. Sometimes it can be challenging to work out where we’re supposed to be. But God will guide us to the right place. We just need to be open to Him leading us. God told Adam to ‘be fruitful and increase in number’ (Genesis 1:28 NIV). But that didn’t happen without Adam having to put some work in. The Bible tells us: ‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it’ (Genesis 2:15 NIV). When we get to the right place, we shouldn’t expect our assignment to necessarily be easy or think we'll become successful straight away. It might feel really tough, and that can make us doubt whether we really heard God’s call. We might feel totally unequipped to do what we’ve been called to. We might feel like we’re not the right person. But when we’re in the right place, doing what God wants, we’ll be given the grace and strength to handle it. What Now? Read through the book of Jonah in the Bible. Then ask God to help you make the choice to follow His call. Esther 9-10, Romans 12