“When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them …” Joshua 19:49 (NIV)
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Exiting the highway, I noticed a sign in an empty grass lot across from my subdivision. It read “Grocery Store Coming Soon.” My heart skipped a beat.
Perhaps you’re thinking, Wow, this girl gets oddly excited about the construction of a new grocery store.
I should explain.
I’m a pharmacist, and I had been praying for a job closer to home. Though I explored options nearby, nothing seemed to be a good fit. When I saw the sign, my mind began to race. Could this be it? Will the grocery store include a pharmacy? Will they even hire me? At that moment, I felt as if I heard God say, That’s yours.
I was reminded of Joshua 19-20, where God assigned portions of the promised land to the tribes of Israel. They had been desiring, waiting and fighting for this land for a long time. Tribe by tribe, clan by clan, God said to each person (in so many words), That’s yours.
The Simeonites received territory within Judah. The tribe of Zebulun got a tiny but lush green area with its boundary as far as Sarid. Issachar’s allotment was near the Sea of Galilee. Every allotment was strategically assigned by God. The final allotment of land was given to Joshua, Israel’s servant leader.
“When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, as the LORD had commanded. They gave him the town he asked for—Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim” (Joshua 19:49-50a, NIV).
Scholars say this land wasn’t anything fancy, but to Joshua, it was his inheritance. Joshua had been waiting for this land for 45 years. The name Timnath Serah signified “God’s abundant provision.”
Joshua 19:50b then says “he built up the town and settled there” (NIV).
I believe God has given each of us an allotment — the schools and churches we attend, the jobs we go to, the gyms or coffee shops we frequent, our homes, our neighborhoods, and our cities. It may not look like much at first, but we must remember God has strategically placed us there. And in doing so, He’s saying, That’s yours — your allotment, your sphere of influence, your Timnath Serah.
By the way, about a year after seeing that sign, the empty grass lot was transformed into a beautiful grocery store with a pharmacy inside of it. And for the past 15 years, it’s been my Timnath Serah. It may not look like much to others, but for me, it’s a place of God’s abundant provision.
Wherever God places us, He entrusts us with purpose. However long or short the season, let us be faithful.
Dear Jesus, please equip me to be Your hands, feet and voice where You have placed me — in my home, neighborhood, city, church, job, school or grocery store. And may my life always bring glory to Your Name. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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FOR DEEPER STUDY
Acts 17:26, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place …” (ESV).
Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (NIV).
What has God entrusted to you? What and where is your sphere of influence, and how do you believe God desires to use you in that area?
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