How Do You Know When It’s Time to Leave?

The purpose of this post is not to convince you to move. No, the purpose is to open your mind to the possibility that the Lord may be taking you somewhere different. You see, just over a year ago we moved to a new place. It was six hours away from our adult children and our young grandchildren. And you may perhaps ask why. Let me drop a quote from Jesus in here.

Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
-Mark 10:29-30 ESV

What These Verses are Not

Mark 10:29-30 aren’t telling you that you must go somewhere new (but the Great Commission may be doing so). Just before this section a wealthy young man comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. They go through a few commandments and the young man says he’s kept those commandments since he was young. Jesus let him know he just lacked one thing, to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor. The young man went away sorrowfully, because he was very wealthy. We don’t know if he did what Jesus said or not.

Then Jesus told His disciples that it is very difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God. Now, at that time, wealth was equated with being blessed by God (sound familiar?). Then when Jesus repeated that it was very hard for rich people to enter God’s Kingdom:

…they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
-Mark 10:26-27 ESV

This leads us to Peter making the point that the disciples had followed Jesus…not knowing what would happen.

Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.”
-Mark 10:28 ESV

And now we see the verses from earlier, and we understand the context.

This is not a commandment from Jesus to go anywhere, but rather a promise. Also, it’s not a prosperity gospel promise. What it is saying is that whatever you give up in this life to follow Jesus and for the gospel will be repaid many times over, “now in this time”.

In other words, you will get far more than you give up, and you will get it in THIS life. Does that mean you will be wealthy? Not necessarily. Based on biblical accounts the disciples were not wealthy. But they did receive the promise, the entire promise.

What is the Promise?

Jesus said, if you give up “house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,“ you will, according to verse 30:

…receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
-Mark 10:30 ESV

As we said above, that does not necessarily mean material wealth. But do you know what it does mean? It means you will have a family larger than you’ve ever had. God’s family. It means you will meet other Jesus followers who will share with you their homes and their blessings to support you in your journey of following Christ.

And you will also receive eternal life, that’s a fantastic exchange!

Ok, But What About the Persecutions Part?

I wondered if you’d caught that I temporarily skipped that. Let’s not ignore words of Jesus, even if they’re unpleasant. Here is the truth. No truly sincere follower of Jesus is immune from persecution. If you haven’t experienced it yet there are two possible reasons.

1) It’s not been in God’s timing yet to be allowed in your life.

2) You’re not fully following Christ.

Now, we could go easy on ourselves and assume it the first one. That may be 100% true. But I’ll tell you something I’ve experienced, once you start getting really serious about your faith and doing what God is calling you to do, you WILL get pushback. Maybe it won’t seem like persecution, at least not comparable to what the disciples and Christian martyrs have suffered through, but it will still be a negative experience.

What do you do when that happens?

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
-James 1:2-4 NIV

Keeping close to the Lord and remaining in His joy through the difficulties, these are how you become a more mature Jesus follower.

Back to the Original Question

We started this post by asking, “How Do You Know When It’s Time to Leave?” Let me tell you our experience.

The Lord recently led us to a new place. A place where we didn’t know anyone. But it was abundantly clear that it was time to leave where we had been for many years. You see, one way He reveals His plan for a change in your life is to begin removing people and activities that once kept you joyfully engaged in a place. When it’s time for the change, He often makes where you are less comfortable and less fulfilling.

But even so, you may be conflicted and, in some ways, not want to go. Why? Because it’s easier to stay in a place we’ve been comfortable a long time than to go somewhere else…even if where we are is becoming steadily more uncomfortable.

Also, and here’s where the promise of Jesus shows up, you may be leaving people behind. People that you love dearly. Let me be clear. Leaving people behind and following the Lord’s leading will involve emotional pain. There will be tears. There will be times of doubt.

And Again, the Promise

Hear me sisters and brothers. Once you are in the place He has called you there will be signs from Him that you are where you’re supposed to be. He will be gracious to give you peace if you listen for His voice.

Yes, there will still be moments of wistfulness, where you’ll miss those left behind. However, at that point it’s time to look forward! Time to claim the promise from Jesus to “receive a hundredfold now in this time” and “in the age to come eternal life”! One final point on this topic. In our world it’s never been easier to leave and stay in contact. Although it’s not the same as being there, the ability to see and hear loved ones using technology is a wonderful blessing. Use it to stay in touch, even while fulfilling God’s call in a new place. In His kindness He’s given you the best of both worlds.

The Wrap Up

I told you at the outset that the purpose of this post is not to convince you to move. No, the purpose is to open your mind to the possibility that the Lord may be taking you somewhere different. Whether you are being called to physically move to a new place or to make some major changes in your spiritual life I cannot know.

But I can know this. God did not call you to remain stagnant. One of my favorite quotes from Dr. Mike Burnette is this:

“The God who never changes is always doing something new.”

So, here are the questions to ask yourself right now, in this moment.

What is the change God is calling me to do?
Will I trust and obey?

If you have follow-up thoughts, feel free to reach out to me directly via our contact form. Also, if you’d like to learn more about me and why I create all this content about following Jesus, check out my About page. If you love the content and would like to support this work, please visit Troy Stoneking (buymeacoffee.com). Finally, would you like to see a list of ALL our blog posts? Here it is!

Love you Jesus follower!

-Troy