Christian Living · Knowing God

It’s okay to feel out of place

Elihu

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

J.R.R. Tolkien

A few nights ago, as I struggled to get to sleep, I flipped to my Bible App and opened Psalm 90. Earlier in the day, I had been inspired by the first two verses:

Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

~ Psalm 90: 1-2, ESV

As I prepared to re-read verse one, my eye fell on the subheading: “A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.”

I’ve spent the better part of 2017 doing a daily study on what the Bible teaches us about God, and I am still in Deuteronomy. Five books in eight months isn’t exactly stellar, but sometimes the deepest digging is the slowest. I’ve been spending heaps of time reading and re-reading the books of Moses as I dig through the text trying to categorize consistencies in God’s character and nature. Psalm 90 is one of the few Psalms attributed to Moses, and his authorship lends greater poignancy to the first verse, “Lord you have been our dwelling place in all generations.”

Moses, the man without a country.

Moses, the wanderer.

Moses wrote of a dwelling place: The Almighty God.

Read the rest of the article at TheCourage.com

Published by Elihu

Elihu Anderson is a California refugee currently thriving on the West Texas plains. She is the founder of elihuscorner.com and is a contributor to Kirk Cameron's website TheCourage.com. When she isn't writing, reading, or teaching, she is sipping on some iced homemade chai and enjoying time with a good friend. Come by and say hi at elihuscorner.com or visit me on Facebook.com/elihuscorner

22 thoughts on “It’s okay to feel out of place”

  2. Amen! I really liked this article. It’s okay to be an outlier and to feel out of place. We are “in the world,but not of the world.” We’re actually called to be set apart, “set apart” actually being the very definition of Holy. So many of the great prophets in the bible were alone, did not fit in, out in the dessert eating locust and honey. Hopefully none of us have to go to such extremes,but I like the idea of cultivating the same kind of heart and spirit.

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    1. Yes indeed! Reading Leviticus brings into sharp relief this idea of what it means—to God—to be holy (set apart). I’m not referring so much to the laws themselves, but what the laws were intended to do. As you say, we are to “cultivate” that same spirit. God has always wanted our hearts more than anything else.

      Thanks for your comment, IB. God be with you!

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    1. Heaven! Such a great mystery and hope. It’s amazing to me how when we search out a matter, we grow so much closer to God. May you be blessed and encouraged as you dig into the scriptures. God be with you.

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    1. Amen to that! Some of my favorites studies were deep and long. A family friend spent seven years in weekly home bible studies with us, leading us from Genesis through Revelation. Much of what I know about the scriptures was gleaned during that seven-year period! 🙂

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      1. Now that’s a bible study. Now that you have that one finished, don’t stop going back over the scriptures in daily reading. The word of God is a living thing, and it is always relevant. We can keep refreshing ourselves in the word of God…

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