To Stay Or To Go?

God uses trials to teach us to persevere, which helps us to grow in maturity (James 2:2-4).  But, sometimes, God uses hardship to move us out of a situation or area, such as He did with Abraham (Genesis 12:10) and Jacob (Genesis 41:56-42:2).  How are we to know whether to persevere or to leave?

Some basic principles of decision making are:

Does the Bible speak specifically about the issue?
Does the Bible speak about the general principle? 
If the Bible doesn’t speak on it, you are free in your decision.

God may want you to persevere, or He might be moving you to do something new or to another place.  

Ruth is a wonderful example of someone who endured in hardship.  She was faithful and devoted to her mother in law, Naomi, regardless of the sacrifice it required of her.  Her perseverance resulted in  marrying Boaz who gave protection to both her and Naomi.  Ruth and Boaz had a son, an heir to carry on the family name, a great blessing to them.  Not only that, but her great grandson was David, king of Israel (Ruth 4:21-22).  He will always be known as their esteemed king.  Even greater than this, the Lord, Jesus, King of the Universe, is the descendant of Ruth and Boaz (Matthew 1:1-16).

Paul and Barnabas are examples of those whom God moved away from a particular hardship.  In Acts 15:36-41, they had such a sharp disagreement over whether or not to take Mark on the journey, that they separated.  There is no reprimand or mention of sin in this account.  We know that Mark departed after Elymas, the magician, was blinded for hindering the work of the Gospel (Acts 13:4-13).  Perhaps, Mark left in fear--the reason isn't clear.  What we know is that Paul and Barnabas couldn't agree and decided to separate.  The result is that now there were two evangelistic journeys instead of one.  So, God used even a disagreement between Christians for His glory and the expansion of the Gospel. 

We shouldn't be too quick to leave a difficult situation, but neither should we be reticent to leave if God is moving us out.  Perhaps God can use us better someplace else.   Scripture, prayer and wise counsel are means that God uses to show us His will, and in that, He is always glorified.