“Location, location, location”—there is no truer mantra in all of business. You might have the best business idea, but if you are not in the right place, it will fail. Imagine an ice cream shop at the South Pole or a soup shop in the middle of Death Valley, CA. Success in these locations would be unlikely—unless you switched the products you were selling.
This winter has been warmer than usual. Our household, like many, has lamented the lack of snow. Barely a cumulative inch, and that is being generous. My sons were shocked to learn that other parts of the U.S. have been colder and snowier than normal. Our nation’s East Coast has been inundated with snowfall- Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston have been impacted by major storms. Our perspective on a snowy winter returns to our first refrain: location, location, location.
This would have been a tough year to sell snow shovels in the Tri-Cities, but in Massachusetts, they would probably have sold out in a week. This idea is similar to our relationship with God. Here, location is not about geography, but about the position of our hearts.
Psalm 63:1-7 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.”
David is destitute, suffering in the wilderness, and in great need. It is from this place that he recognizes his desperate need for God. He acknowledges that only God can satisfy or provide life. Our souls desperately need God, and many times we must go to the dry lands to recall our dependence on Him.
When you find yourself in a dry and weary land, that’s when you are truly ready to seek God. When your soul is famished and longing, God satisfies like the best feast. This is why Jesus instructs us to have a posture of those who hunger for righteousness (Matthew 5:6). It’s also why the rich struggle to enter heaven (Matthew 19:24)—their needs are met; why search for something when you are satiated and full? Seeking God is not on their minds or in their hearts. It is the poor and needy who thirst for water. Those who recognize their need for God’s love are the ones who will praise Him with “joyfull lips.”
We don’t have to wander aimlessly in the wilderness or starve ourselves. However, we must acknowledge our dependence on the One who truly satisfies. When we do this, we are in the right location.