I am not sure if you have ever dislocated any part of your body? If you haven’t, I wouldn’t want you to. It can be extremely painful as not only the joint is out of place but also tendons, muscles and nerves. When my shoulder dislocates it causes pain to shoot from my fingertips right up to my upper neck. The pain gets so much sometimes that I will also get a headache and a stomachache. I am not sure why these other body parts start to hurt, but I figure the pain is just too much for my arm that other parts of my body begin to take some of the pain. That may not be scientific, but it is just my supposition. This however is not much different from the body of Christ. If anyone of its members is out of place then this can affect the entire body. There are also different ways of being out of place which include being in a ministry that God never called you to, being in a different geographical location than where God has told you to be, and simply not moving to do what He has called you to.
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. 1 Corinthians 12:4-14
If we are not of the same Spirit and we are dabbling with other religions that are contrary to Christ, then we are dislocated, and it will cause hurt. There is only one God and one Holy Spirit. If we are not standing in Christ alone, then the body will fall. We could also cause great hurt to ourselves and the body of Christ if we are trying to operate in a gift that the Spirit didn’t give us. Let me state here that the body of Christ of which I speak is not in a building or limited by geographical location. It is the Church throughout the world. That is why geographical location is important. We see missionaries going out throughout the world, but each missionary needs to make sure that they are in the place God has sent them. I have a friend who recently had the choice to go do ministry in the Middle East or to fly across her country to minister to her family. Her choice was her family because that is where she believed God wanted her to be. We have to be able not only to discern God’s voice but also obey it. We may want to do a big ministry in a city, when God is sending us to do missionary work in a remote village where we could easily be forgotten. The ministry in the city may be very successful, but you may never hear from the Lord say, “Well done good and faith servant,” (see Matthew 25:23) because you are out of location and that is not where He would have you. The work in the village may not be easy and may be out of the way, and an uncomfortable place to live, but God will give you the strength to overcome the obstacles as you are in His right location. We should never settle at a place where God did not send us and miss reaching His intended destination for us.
And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. Genesis 11:31-32
Terah was heading to Canaan, but settled in Haran, which is found in Turkey and did not reach his destination of Canaan, which is in Israel, Jordan, and the southern parts of Lebanon and Syria. Later, God sent his son Abram, who He later named Abraham, to go to Canaan. Abraham obeyed God and reached his destination, which God promised that his descendants would inherit. We don’t know if God spoke to Terah, but somehow, he knew to go to Canaan, but instead He settled in a place where he did not intend to go. I pray we never settle before we reach God’s intended destination, and move when He says to move or else, we may miss out on His promises and His blessings. We need to be in God’s right location in His right time.
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