In the spring when kings march out to war, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel.  They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.  2 Samuel 11:1  HCSB

I spend more time than I want to looking for things that I have misplaced.  My husband will tell you that there have been items that I have accused him of misplacing but then found them right where I put them.  The problem is that sometimes I find a place that I think will be a great place to store something only to find out that I can’t remember where this great place is.

Think about how perfectly God put the universe together.  Everything is in order.  The trees are rooted firmly in the ground.  The clouds adorn the sky.  The sun provides us with daylight and the moon lights up the night.

Well, God has a place for each and everyone of us.  He puts us where we need to be.  He has an assignment for us.  Now if you have no idea what that job is, you need to draw closer to Him and find out. Everything has a place, a purpose, and a sense of order about where God’s creations are concerned.

As human beings our place and our purpose is here and we were sent here to be in fellowship with our Lord and Savior. We were sent here to help others see the way to a loving relationship with our Lord and Savior. When we fail to do these things, things get out of whack for us.  We have trouble.

David was a great warrior who, through God’s plan for his life, went on to become a great king.  David had one weakness, women. Now many of you have read the story of David and Bathsheba and know that that was a low point for David where his temptation got the best of him and one sin (adultery) led to another sin (murder).  This was clearly not a good time for David. As a result of his sin with Bathsheba she became pregnant, but as you may recall their son did not live. God took their son as a punishment for David’s sin (2 Samuel 12:15). The prophet Nathan told David that because of his sin, the Lord was going to bring disaster on him from his own family.  He told him that God had forgiven his sin and he would not die but that he would have trouble in his own family from that time forward (2 Samuel 12:11). Nathan told him that while he sinned in public his punishment would be seen by all (2 Samuel 11:12) in broad daylight. Now the good news in this story is that David repented and got himself straight with God, but he did suffer with turmoil in his family from that day forward.  Psalm 51 is David’s prayer to God for restoration after his sin with Bathsheba.

Now this all began because David was not where he was supposed to be.  He should have been off at war with his army, but he had become so complacent that he just stayed home.  David was a great warrior and was victorious in all of his battles.  So, this time he let his army handle it while he stayed at home.  Now my grandmother used to always tell me that idle hands are the devil’s workshop.  When we are not where we are supposed to be doing what we are supposed to be doing, there’s a good chance that we will find ourselves in a jam just like David did. This is where the devil creeps in with temptation.

The term, being put in your place, has a negative connotation. When someone gets angry with us, they may say, “I’m going to put you in your place”. But when God puts us in our place it’s for our own good. When he gives us the task that he sent us here to do, it is best that we do it.  Don’t take my word for it, you can read all about Jonah in the belly of that whale (Jonah chapters 1-4).  Jonah didn’t care so much for the job that God had assigned him, so he tried to run from it.  That didn’t work out so well for him.

If things seem out of place and just aren’t working out so well for you, I ask you to consider something. Are you where God wants you to be? is your relationship with Him solid? Are you following His instructions?

Everything has a spot where it belongs. We lost track of our belongings when we don’t put them in the proper place. Our lives get out of whack when we are not where God intends for us to be and are not doing what God intends for us to do. My prayer for you today is that you are securely in the place God wants you to be.

Have a great day!