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Bloom Where You Are Planted
Bob Armstrong found that in a most unexpected and difficult place God desired to commune with him. His struggle was to put aside the doubts and fears and trust in what God was saying through it all.
BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED!
It is impeative that we bloom where we are planted. When God called me into ministry nearly one-quarter century ago, He said to me, “Have compassion on the suffering where few dare to go!” I’ve followed that call ever since. Little did I know that would include going into prison!
I had been at the “top” of successful ministry---praying with presidents of countries, training 49,000 pastors on leadership, and being a part of peace missions at the very highest levels. In spite of this success, I suddenly found myself inside a federal prison for a little over one year, through what several officials described as a “miscarriage of justice.” Talk about blooming where one is planted. The compassion of Christ changed many perilous situations into times of triumph. Even though I have traveled in 44 countries in ministry, somehow I was still “shielded” from what many Americans are like without a Godly moral compass. My eyes were opened, but more importantly, my heart was even more opened. In spite of the circumstances, I had to bloom and be a shining light example to the men there.
Joshua 1:9 says, “…Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
In spite of my upside down world, going from $6,000 a month income to 4.8 cents an hour, from praying with presidents of countries to being a convicted felon, from stepping out of the presidential limousine in front of where Osama bin Laden once lived to a total loss of freedom, from a happily married husband and father to living with several strangers, through His Holy Spirit, I remained an overcomer. God’s light can still shine in dark places!
Romans 8:28 became my life’s verse: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
But I had to make a choice. I had to choose forgiveness to those who had wronged me. Forgiveness is the key to total freedom. That freedom is accentuated when one is in prison. I had to forgive the person who caused me to be in prison; otherwise I would have been unable to be totally free myself.
“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” --Ephesians 4:32
Paul J. Meyer’s book on forgiveness said it all: “Forgiveness has an uncanny way of bringing incredible good out of incredibly bad situations. It’s amazing – nothing less than a miracle.” My choice to forgive or not to forgive will impact me for the rest of my life and the life of my family. I had to ask God to help me to forgive.
In your situation, you must make a choice between: (A) Your thoughts, reflections, hurts, pain, fears and circumstances…VERSUS (B) What God’s Word says about YOU! I will never forget the very first hymn that I sung that first Sunday in the prison chapel: “We are standing on holy ground…” I admit, that was a hard lesson for God to teach me!
“I had to do something to get your attention to slow down,” God spoke to me while in prison. No matter what you have done, always realize you are special in God’s sight. Whatever your circumstances are, do not be deterred from His purposes and His call upon your life. Look at other people’s perspectives. Understand that much of America does NOT think like you do!
In spite of my dire circumstances, God communed with me. No matter what you’re facing, God wants to commune with you. And He wants YOU to “Bloom where you are planted”---whether that means you are on the mission field, in your church, on the golf course, in a nursing home, at the supermarket, or even in prison.
God covets, the Bible says, to have a communication and a relationship with you. All it takes is an open heart and an open spirit to permit God to personally speak to you. This can happen in a church, in your bed, on the street, or even in a prison cell. PAY ATTENTION to that “still, small voice” that sits on your shoulder and questions something you are about to do!
Listen to the Holy Spirit when you are doing the mundane. If you pay attention and listen to the Spirit speak to you while you are addressing the supposedly insignificant details, when the big tasks come, you will be able to make the prudent, right, correct and Godly decisions. YOU are a distinctive representative of the King of Kings.
I used to think that God wanted me to pray fervently to Him about the major decisions that I had to make in life: my wife, my job, my home, etc. But no, God wants you to “commune with Him” on the day-to-day matters. What God sees you do in the small things; He will reward you in the big things.
Pay attention! Listen! God covets a personal, intimate relationship with you. A wise person once said, “Doing the right thing under pressure IS leadership, even without saying a word.”
I was hurt. My wife and daughter have suffered so because of the circumstances. But, through it all, they’ve been made stronger. I’ve been made much stronger in my faith and in the anointing on my ministry.
Whatever you are facing, God can help you. You don’t have to go to prison to discover that. You can discover that right this very moment. Experiencing His Spirit within you on a continual basis will cause you to be an overcomer.
But, most importantly, commune with Him, personally. Pay attention to Him. Listen to Him. Don’t just produce a “laundry list” of bad things in your life that He needs to take care of or cleanup for you. Put that aside and take the time to actually listen to Him. He wants to speak to you, even today. Listen to that “still, small voice.”
And wherever you are: BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED!
Psalm 40:2-3 reads: “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth -- Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the LORD.”
Rev. Bob Armstrong is an ordained GCMF minister who founded Love-Link Ministries, an evangelistic and humanitarian organization, and has worked in over 44 countries. He has provided training for over 49,000 pastors and leaders in 13 different countries. A graduate of Oral Roberts University, he has edited numerous Christian periodicals and books. Visit his website www.lovelinkministires.com.
Rev. Bob Armstrong is an ordained GCMF minister who founded Love-Link Ministries, an evangelistic and humanitarian organization, having worked in over 44 countries. His assisted in the training of more than 49,000 pastors and leaders in 13 different countries. A graduate of Oral Roberts University, he has edited numerous Christian periodicals and books, and recently released “RAZOR’S EDGE – from bin Laden’s Home to Divine Appointments!”