The Place the Lord Your God Chooses – Where You Will Find Rest

By Carol Doyel –

A question I’ve been asking myself a lot these days is, “is this the place the Lord wants me or has chosen for me to be?” I’m not just talking about my physical location, but my spiritual place as well. I think we all want to be assured that we are where God desires us to be. Yet, how many of us make decisions about what we do, where we go, how we spend our money, and so on, without seeking God?

I try to keep God in mind as I go about my day, making decisions and choices, and yet I know that I do things and end up in places that I’m not so sure God has chosen for me to be. Often it’s out of frustration, doubt, or even pain that I find myself asking Him, “is this where you want me?”

As I was reading a newsletter from a woman I know who is living in Israel it referenced the Sons of Isachar and I immediately sensed the Holy Spirit nudge me. So I looked up the verse in 1 Chronicles 12 about the Sons of Isachar. As I began to read and seek God for understanding He led me to various verses and this is what I learned…

What I found to be significant about the Sons of Isachar and the reference to them in 1 Chronicles 12, is the timing and place in history that they are mentioned. The Sons of Isachar were given understanding of the times as revealed in 1 Chronicles 12: 13:

“…of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…” (NKJV)

It was after David became King of Israel and he began building his army (or maybe more accurately, God’s army), prior to bringing back the Ark of God. As I read through chapter 12 it occurred to me, they were preparing for revival by praising and seeking God “together” to stir up the Spirit of the Lord to bring back the presence of God based on their understanding at the time under the old covenant…by means of establishing a place for God’s presence to rest – in the Ark of God. There is nothing better than being in the presence of God, as the following excerpt from “Blessings of Hope” by Roy Lessin so beautifully describes:

God is Great

The greatest thing your heart can experience
when you are along with God is His presence.
He is greater than any of His gifts.
What He is to you is greater
than anything He can do for you.
His lovingkindness is better than life…
in His presence is fullness of joy…
at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.
When God gives Himself to you there is
nothing higher that He can give.

As Christians today we know that if we are saved and have accepted Jesus as our savior, God’s presence or His Spirit is within us. We are now and should be the holy temple where the Spirit of the Lord rests.

As I continued to read I was led to Deuteronomy, one of my favorite books of the Bible which the Lord has given me many promises and warnings from for my life. Going back to the question of, where God desires us to be, you will find many scriptures that include the following words over and over, “the place which the Lord your God chooses”. Having recently attended a conference that Kay Arthur taught about the importance of words that are repeated multiple times and how we need to pay attention to what God is trying to reveal to us through those scriptures, I knew God wanted to reveal something about the place He chooses for us.

What I believe God is trying to show us is in Deuteronomy 12 is, we need to make sure that we are following His ways and statues – that we learn by reading the Word of God. Deuteronomy 12 starts out with, “These are the statues and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth.”

So if we want to move into the “place” that God chooses for us we need to make sure that we are being “careful” to observe His statues and judgments. A good cross reference verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:21 – where it states we should examine everything and hold to what is good and abstain from “every evil”. That is a high calling but thankfully we are covered by the blood of Jesus when we fall short or “miss the mark” – Halleluiah! But we are still called to be holy as He is holy, under the new covenant. There is a blessing in following God’s statues and judgments – and abstaining from evil.

It goes on to say in 1 chronicles 12:8-11 (NKJV) that, “you shall not at all do as we are doing here today – every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes – for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you. But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide.” 

Please stop and read this again.

This is the place that I’m referring to. The place that the Lord your God chooses for you. Where you will find safety and rest from your enemies – where His name and presence abides. Just as it did when the Israelites rejoiced and worshipped the Lord. If you go back to 1 Chronicles 12:38-40 you will find some things listed that happened during that time. One of the things that I noticed is that they were seeking God “together”.

This was a great time in the history of Israel when God appointed David as King of Israel. One of the first things King David did was build-up Israel’s army to protect them from their enemies. The next thing he did was to bring together the “men of war” to Hebron. Hebron is derived from a similar Hebrew word – chevar meaning “to unite, to join”. Verse 8 states they were men “who could keep ranks” and had “loyal hearts”. It also tells us that “the rest of Israel were of one mind to make David King.”

It seems that the people as described in 1 Chronicles 12 were united and focused to carry out the will of God, which was to see David become the King of Israel. In addition, they celebrated together, and in the end of verse 40 it states that “there was joy in Israel.”

Perhaps there are some things we can learn from these versus to help us find that “place” that God chooses for us to be. To be in the will of God we must first be set on knowing His will, not our own way, through prayer and reading the Word, as well as to be in community with others for a unified purpose – celebrating, rejoicing, and worshipping God. We need one another and we need to be moving in unity, in step with God – if we want to experience a greater measure of God’s presence and power among us.

As you read further down in 1 Chronicles 13, you will come across the verse that many of us are familiar with and have probably questioned, where Uzza put his hand to hold the ark and was struck dead. Perhaps, as he attempted to do what he felt needed to be done, he overlooked the fact that God does not need man to save Him…perhaps it was not God’s will or timing for the Ark to be moved and God used it as a way to warn them from taking the Ark any further. It caused David to become afraid, so he took the Ark to the house of Obed-Edom where it remained for three months. It was a testimony of the power of God’s presence, as verse 14 states, “And the LORD blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had.” God’s presence brings abundance and blessings.

For whatever reason, beyond our understanding, God’s will was different than man’s and He wanted the Ark to rest at the house of Obed-Edom for three months before it was brought up to Jerusalem. The history and appointed times were established by God, which eventually led to the covenant the Lord made with David to build the nation of Israel and God’s throne “forever” (1 Chronicles 17:9-12). We are covered under the same covenant as believers today.

Ultimately, God’s way always leads to blessings and life. The key is to have an understanding of the times and seasons, as the sons of Ischar did, and to not get ahead of God by taking things into our own hands, no matter how good it may appear to be. If we seek Him, pray and ask – I believe we will find that place the LORD God chooses for us, where His name abides and where we will find rest.

Carol Doyel is Editor-in-Chief and Founder of LivingBetter50.com. She is a graduate of The Full Gospel Bible Institute and has a passion for women’s ministries, issues and lives. She and her husband of 26+ years have three grown kids and four grandchildren. They currently reside in southern CA. Her desire is to inspire women to live better physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually.