The Wrong Side of The Right Place

Whoever came up with GPS, I owe them big.  Anytime I'm trying to get to an unknown destination, you can bet I have my navigation app on my phone working to get me there.  I can count on it to be accurate down to the last turn, most of the time.  There are other times, though, that for whatever reason the reliability falters.  It will guide me in the right area and the voice will say something to the effect of, "In 200 feet your destination will be on the left." So I drive the 200 feet and visually survey every building, but the place I'm seeking is nowhere in my line of sight."  A tinge of nervous irritability begins to creep in because now I have no idea if I'm anywhere close to where I should be.  Then my common sense takes over and my brain tells me to redirect my line of sight.  So I simply turn my head towards the right and, voila, I find what I had been looking for.  My navigation had me looking at the wrong side of the right place.  Such a small error. Such close proximity.  Such a simple fix. Still, unless I redirected my focus,  I would have been lost.

 

Life can be like that.  As Christians, our goal is to listen to the voice of the Father and follow his navigation.  God will sometimes lead us directly to where he wants us to be, but he gives us the leeway to figure out how we best serve in that place.  Maybe you are experiencing something like this.  You are working on at a place that you know God has led you to.  Everyday, you work your hind parts off, but your performance is not as effective as it should be.  You keep working with integrity and try to work harder for a better outcome.  Still, nothing.  You feel lost and broken.  Maybe you heard God wrong. Well, you may be in a situation of being on the wrong side of the right place.  It may not be where you are that is the problem. It may be that God intended for you to serve a different purpose in that place.  It could be that you need to seek a different position. Assess your talents/skills. Ask God if he has a different idea for how you should be using those abilities than what you have for yourself.  God may be preparing to reveal a hidden talent that you never had.  He wouldn't have you remain in a position working so hard and not bearing fruit.  No, something needs to be repurposed.  Pray that God would open your eyes to see as he sees.  Let him know that you are willing to get out of your comfort zone and make changes.  Follow his lead so that you can be in the right side of the right place.

 

There are so many ways that we can be at the wrong side of the right place.  In our marriage, we may have to make adjustments.  The way things have been may not necessarily be the way that things are always meant to be.  Maybe you never picked up the kids from school on Fridays.  Maybe the wife never took out the trash.  Well, your normal routine and each persons former responsibilities being worked out the way they always have been just isn't working out.  The wife is always late picking up the kids on Fridays now, because she has a new boss that makes them stay for Friday meetings.  The trash always ends up being torn apart by dogs because now you have to take it out so early to get to your new job on time.  Noone wants to adjust though and your marriage is breaking apart. You both begin to wonder if you are in the wrong place. No, you are in the right place.  You all just have to reposition yourselves and look at things differently. Then do things differently as needed. You'll find your tasks and your marriage to be less of  a strain.

 

In John 21, there were some fisherman out fishing.  They had cast their net on the left side of the boat.  They had been out there a while, but had caught nothing.  Jesus came along and asked them if they had caught anything.  They replied, "No." Jesus didn't tell them to move the boat.   He just told them to cast their net on the other side of the boat.   The fishermen had been fishing on the wrong side of the right place.  They were working hard, but it wasn't productive until they switched positions in the place that they were at.  Once they did, they caught a slew of fish and as heavy as the load was, their net never broke.  That tells me when we are working in the position that God directs us to be in, the payoff is excellent. Nothing is lost and nothing is broken, when we follow God's leading to the right side of the right place.

 

Scripture: Proverbs 16:9

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

 

Prayer:

Lord, help us to understand and acknowledge any time that we are in the wrong side of the right place. May we always willingly make any changes you deem necessary for us to live lives of productivity, potency, and peace.