Love Where You Live By Shauna PilgreenSample

Day Seven

Choosing to Stay

Scripture: Exodus 33:14–15

Starting to stay is the first step. Choosing to stay is what happens each day forward. Every time I venture back to Georgia and spend time with my extended family, I see what I’m missing out on. I see my nieces and nephews growing up and the handiwork my father has done at my sister’s house. I see the price of gasoline and the myriad of drive-thrus. I hear of celebrations I missed. Yet something powerful also happens. I realize that where I am living has a stronger pull on my soul than where I could be living. 

When we moved to San Francisco, I was aware that we were living in a city referred to as “the graveyard for church plants.” My new home was the second most densely populated American city, after Manhattan. My husband and I couldn’t get our minds around a budget as we were now living in the most expensive place in America. If we weren’t careful, our minds would roam back to “Previousville,” and that’s not where we lived anymore. My head was saying we should go where 

the grass was greener,

the sunshine was brighter,

the mortgage was cheaper,

the people were friendlier,

the hours were less grueling,

the traffic was lighter,

the schools were ranked higher,

the walkability score was higher,

the downtown was more lovely, and the streets were cleaner. 

I was giving God every reason to move His presence to an easier place, but that wasn’t going to happen. It was time to start thinking differently—to start looking at what I already had in me and then to imagine all that God wanted to do through me. 

A fear of missing out is not from God. He wants us to stay in the place He has for us, doing what He’s called us to do. A fear of missing out surfaces from comparison and competition. It’s a survival tactic, not a staying power. Most of us can live anywhere. This joyful journey is for those who want to live in the place God has for us. 

Why do you think God spoke of rest when He told Moses to go in His presence in Exodus 33? What does that mean for your situation today?