Being out of place is the most uncomfortable and disorienting feeling. It steals our enthusiasm and frustrates our purpose. It can hurt us and others around us. On the other hand, being in place is entirely satisfying. There is peace when you are in the right place and time.
I think of it like a jigsaw puzzle. You have a beautiful picture on the outside of the box, which all the small pieces put together should make. In the Bible, we have the view of the purpose and life that God would have us to live. When we pray and seek God and put each of those elements, seasons, gifts, talents, and abilities together in the right place, it culminates in the picture that is our God-purposed life. The thing about the pieces to a puzzle is they have one place to fit. We can try to force a bit in, but it will ruin that piece and the details around it, and ultimately, the picture will not look like the front of the box.
Being out of place can bring loneliness, confusion, heartache, and apathy to the forefront of our lives. Moses is the biblical person I think of in this scenario. Sometimes, we put his life in a theatrical box and don’t understand how he felt. Moses’ overall life is the picture of a deliverer. The components of his life put together depict his purpose. His personality, upbringing, and name meant “to deliver” or draw out.
“God had not finished training him. Inexperience and immaturity will cause us to act out of frustration even in the direction of our purpose it will put us out of place…”
He was raised in Pharaoh’s household, God’s way of training him for leadership; however, because he was a Jew and Identified with his people, he felt out of place. His frustration and zeal combined to push him to act out that frustration. He struck a blow against tyranny and slavery but was out of place and time for that blow to be attacked. This forced him to run. He knew his actions were ill-timed, so his life began to spiral out of control. Was he to be Israel’s deliverer? Yes, but this was not the place or the time. God had not finished training him. Inexperience and immaturity will cause us to act out of frustration, even in the direction of our purpose. It will put us out of place, as it did him.
Moses then found himself on the back side of the desert. Even then, we see him trying to be a deliverer. Some young women were attempting to water their father’s flocks and were being bullied out of the way. Moses stepped in, stood up for them, and brought them to the front line. He met his wife in that interaction, married, and took on the trade of his father-in-law. He became a shepherd.
“My life was not supposed to turn out like this. It’s not that he wasn’t happy with his wife, or his child, or even his life or occupation, what was missing was the God component; Purpose.”
It seems that Moses had resigned himself to his new life. The zeal to deliver seemed to be lost to him, and his people dead to him. We can deny our purpose; we can act like “our life is fine,” but in truth, we are hurting and miserable. You see it in Moses in the name of his child. In their culture, your name may often hold significant meaning. Moses named his child just as his mother called him, except she named him in faith. She named him the future deliverer of his people. He named his child to declare his miserable state. He called him Gershon, which means Expulsion, or a stranger there. He was practically screaming, “I am out of place!” My life was not supposed to turn out like this. It’s not that he wasn’t happy with his wife, child, or even his life or occupation; what was missing was the God component, purpose.
It’s exciting that he knew he was out of place, but when God called him, he still made excuses and asked God to get someone else. Sometimes, even when we know we’re out of place and in our hearts we’re miserable, missing that one God component, we still make excuses. I think we get comfortable. “After all, my life’s not so bad; I have a great life, a good career, a great spouse, wonderful children, and good friends.” No more excuses! It’s not about whether or not I have a great life or whether or not I enjoy my life; it is about whether or not I am fulfilling my purpose. We can’t get comfortable with life in the wrong place.
“What significant thing is yet to happen as a result of your purpose or dream?”
When Moses finally surrendered, God gave him the courage to act on his purpose by delivering the Israelites out of the hand of Egypt. He broke the generations free from the shackles that held them. What significant thing is yet to happen due to your purpose or dream? It’s going to happen if we get in place. Moses wasn’t meant to be the Pharaoh’s son, nor was he to be Jethro’s son-in-law, the shepherd; he was meant to be Moses, the deliverer of the people of God. He found telling when he saw his proper place. Find satisfaction, peace, and the realization of God’s purpose in your life as you take your place.
