"Not all who wander are lost." -J.R.R. Tolkien
I'll be the first to admit that I don't always really connect with a lot of Michael W. Smith songs. I respect him and believe he is a gifted musician. Some of his CDs are amidst my collection. I just don't always find myself listening to his music and being stirred deeply in my soul. However, recently I have had one of his songs chugging along in my head like a locomotive bound for destinations unknown.
The song "Place in this World" is a work that strikes the heart strings and resonates with my mind as well. It really always has held a tender place in my heart and is particularly relevant at this time.
The songs speaks of roaming through the night looking for my very own place- my niche in this world. The Scriptures speak of gifts given to each individual as God sees fit. They speak of each person coming together to build up the larger Body of Christ. The Scriptures tell of God's clear guidance of those who seek after Him. I believe fully in all of these points. I have experienced God's gifting, His community, and His direction. However, I have yet to find my place.
For a number of years I have perceived my life as being in a state of constant transience or flux. My life hasn't resembled the life I thought I would have. Apparently God has different plans. I believe that His plans are better than mine, so I'm okay with it. I just really grow impatient from time to time as God withholds His future plans. I find myself asking God when He will take me to my ministry. His response?
"You're there... and it's the not your ministry."
"Oh. Yeah."
Despite knowing that right where I am right now is exactly where God wants me to be right now I long to peek over the horizon. I desire to know how my gifts, talents, and personality work into the big picture that the Big Artist is working on. I just want to know my place in this world. God show me.
(Just an observational note regarding society- I think that a vast majority of people feel this sense of wonder-filled wandering amidst the hectic pace of the daily grind. I just wish more people took the time to slow down and seek God's guidance concerning the matter.)
[note: I stand corrected and changed the credit on the quote at the top of the post. Thanks Beth!]
The song "Place in this World" is a work that strikes the heart strings and resonates with my mind as well. It really always has held a tender place in my heart and is particularly relevant at this time.
The songs speaks of roaming through the night looking for my very own place- my niche in this world. The Scriptures speak of gifts given to each individual as God sees fit. They speak of each person coming together to build up the larger Body of Christ. The Scriptures tell of God's clear guidance of those who seek after Him. I believe fully in all of these points. I have experienced God's gifting, His community, and His direction. However, I have yet to find my place.
For a number of years I have perceived my life as being in a state of constant transience or flux. My life hasn't resembled the life I thought I would have. Apparently God has different plans. I believe that His plans are better than mine, so I'm okay with it. I just really grow impatient from time to time as God withholds His future plans. I find myself asking God when He will take me to my ministry. His response?
"You're there... and it's the not your ministry."
"Oh. Yeah."
Despite knowing that right where I am right now is exactly where God wants me to be right now I long to peek over the horizon. I desire to know how my gifts, talents, and personality work into the big picture that the Big Artist is working on. I just want to know my place in this world. God show me.
(Just an observational note regarding society- I think that a vast majority of people feel this sense of wonder-filled wandering amidst the hectic pace of the daily grind. I just wish more people took the time to slow down and seek God's guidance concerning the matter.)
[note: I stand corrected and changed the credit on the quote at the top of the post. Thanks Beth!]
posted by Gregg @ 2:17 PM
2 Comments:
At 16/5/06 9:51 AM,
Anonymous said…
Hey Gregg, I appreciate your "Big Artist" comments. We are too often, too eager to define infinite concepts from our own puny perspectives. And time moves faster for the ant, than for us (the perception of time)...but in a totally diferent currency to the Artist! The relationship building takes how long?...and the conversion experience, though a lifetime lived, happens in an angel's wink!
Pray with me as I pray with you, as we see the picture the Artist imagines unfold, in the colors and time that He imagines it!
At 16/5/06 10:11 AM,
Beth said…
That song, "Place in this World" always makes me cry, I can relate to your comments. And that quote is from JRR Tolkien, about Aragorn when he was still Strider, BEFORE he "came into his own ministry" so to speak. All that is gold does not glitter, not all who wander are lost. And I can't remember the rest.
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