WEEKLY REFLECTION by Pastor Lap Dinh on 1 Chronicles 5:25–26

Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. The tribes who settled east of the Jordan, outside the Promised Land area. They chose the good grazing land, the convenient territory, the place that looked prosperous. And buried in their genealogy is this verdict: they were the first to go into exile. They had been mighty men of war (5:18). They had even won battles "because they cried out to God in the battle, and He answered their entreaty, for they trusted in Him" (5:20). And yet they drifted, generation by generation, into the worship of the gods of the very land they had chosen for its comfort. Comfort is a quiet exile. You can win the battle and still lose the war if your heart settles east of where God called you.

In connection with John 20, we see that Mary stood weeping at an empty tomb, and the risen Christ spoke one word—her name, "Mary." The God who scattered the comfortable tribes is the same God who comes looking, personally, for the brokenhearted. Exile is never God's last word over His people.

In life, we often choose the easier path, the safer compromise, or the job that just looks better. Ask yourself honestly today: Have I settled somewhere God never told me to settle, simply because it was comfortable?