As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus . . .(1 Timothy 1:3 NIV).

"Stay there in Ephesus." Those four words must have assaulted Timothy's eyes. I can see him eagerly unrolling the scroll, breaking the seal, carefully poring over each word of the introduction and dying on the word "stay."

Clearly, Timothy must have asked Paul a question many of us have asked. "Can I go?" The answer he got wasn't the one he wanted. I can imagine the feelings Timothy felt. Trapped. Stuck. Alone. Unappreciated. Perhaps you have begun to have the same doubts as Timothy. Am I really gifted? Can I do this job? Did God really call me here? Is this what I am supposed to be doing? Isn't there an easier way?

It’s the same question the construction worker asks when retirement is coming and funds are not. It’s the same question the pastor asks when the church is fighting instead of witnessing. It’s the same question the teacher asks when her students get worse and worse every year. It’s the same question the stay-at-home mom asks on a gray winter day when making PB&J sandwiches just doesn’t seem to cut it. We all ask, "Can I do something else?"

That desire is natural. After all, there goes Paul traveling the world. Timothy stays. There goes a friend from the factory, building a business. There goes my college buddy starting his third career. There goes my neighbor Sarah leaving home to get her master’s degree. Here I stay doing what I have always done. Boring. Repetitive. "Can I go, God?"

That question is one you must ask and one only God can answer. Sometimes He answers "yes"—often, "no." If you have asked the question and the answer is "no," take some encouragement from Timothy.

Timothy learned that when God asks you to stay, there is always a reason. In Ephesus wrong teachings were an epidemic. Bickering was rampant. Leaders were being appointed who had no business leading. People were participating in destructive and sinful activities. The church wasn't being the church. Ephesus was an important trade city vital for the rapid spread of Christ's message. Someone had to preach the Word.

My friend, Marv, is a plumber. Five years ago, he would tell you his job was discouraging. But in the last few years he has realized his reason to stay. He gets to share Christ by witness and word in more homes than anyone I know. Last year an elderly man accepted Christ just weeks before he died. Marv shared, a man listened, and an eternity was changed.

—Dave Ward

If God has called you to stay in the seemingly mundane, consider a few questions. Why does God want me here? What can I do where I am, with what I have, to daily bring glory to Christ? How can I touch eternity today. . .here?