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Life can be so challenging sometimes — we each understand this all too well. It’s not only the big things that seem out of our control, but it's also the little things we face each day. We forget our keys. A friend cancels on us. Our bank card gets declined. We wake up anxious. Negative thoughts fill our mind. It doesn’t take much to leave us feeling hopeless, confused, exhausted or stressed. We wonder what God has to say about what we’re experiencing, but sometimes just getting through the next few hours is hard enough. That’s why Proverbs 31 Ministries created the Encouragement For Today Podcast — a collection of 50 devotions to help you start your day with a biblical perspective you can carry with you no matter what lies ahead.
It wasn’t hard at first. My husband and I both felt confident that leaving my job was the right thing for me to do. When we married, we both had taxing careers. Our work demands made it difficult to see each other with any consistency. Once we threw kids into the mix, keeping up with both of our schedules and building the family we wanted just wasn’t happening.
We decided one of us needed to release our job.
I actually didn’t mind being the one to do so. I had imagined for some time what it would be like to be a stay-at-home mom — to be accessible and available to my kids, keep my home in order, and have time to serve my church and community. I probably should say, I fantasized about what my role as full-time homemaker would look like. And when I finally found myself with no paying job to do outside of my home, I had mixed feelings.
My transition to being a stay-at-home mom was challenging. I missed my job. I missed the title, the paycheck, the adult conversation. I didn’t realize how much value was tied to my career, but when I made the decision to relinquish my work life for a season, that value-connection became painfully clear.
I tried to approach my job at home with a level of professionalism, but the never-ending dishes, constant dirty diapers, and perpetual meal-planning just didn’t seem as glamorous as my job outside the home had been.
Yet I knew I’d clearly heard from the Lord about this particular season in my family’s life. Although I longed to be engaged in activities that felt “important” and “notable,” I also wanted to be obedient. And the greatest thing for me to do at that time was to serve well in the place I’d been planted.
In Mark 5, Jesus cured a demon-possessed man. Out of gratitude, he begged to go with Him. Jesus had a great public ministry, teaching multitudes and performing miracles. But instead of allowing the healed man to join Him, Jesus told him to go home and tell others about the great change in his life because of Jesus’ miraculous intervention:
“Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19b).
I wonder … Did the once-demon-possessed man feel like what Jesus asked him to do was “small and unimportant” compared to his desire to stay with Jesus and partake in his public ministry?
Did it seem anticlimactic to go back to the place he knew and to be faithful in the familiar? Was the man frustrated because he couldn’t participate in the greater experience of walking closely with Jesus?
We don’t know how the man felt, but we do know he obeyed Jesus, by going home and declaring to his community the great things Jesus had done.
In a day when so many people are searching for significance and great purpose, perhaps the simplicity of Jesus’ instructions has been lost to us. There’s value in your ministry at home — whatever home is to you in this season.
Home could be your literal home as you minister to children or as the caregiver to a loved one, but home could also be your faithful service in your local church, your neighborhood, or your commitment to serve your community. Home could be the job you could do in your sleep, the friendships you’ve taken for granted, or the small group you lead.
Home is often the place that feels common and leads us to believe we’re missing out on the “great things” we’d like to be doing for God instead. But … what if the great thing God is calling you to is to be faithful at home — whatever home represents for you right now?
Often the great thing we want to do for Jesus is not the thing He desires from us. He desires our obedience, which often means we must choose to serve Him well in the place where we’re already planted. Decide today to serve Jesus faithfully — even if He’s asking you to serve Him faithfully at home.
Dear God, I want to do great things for You. Help me serve You greatly where you’ve already planted me. I want to obey You and share the hope You give with my current circle of influence. Give me the grace to faithfully declare Your great Name, wherever You’re asking me to do so. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.