A mom sits in her car in the school pickup line for the third time this week. She scrolls through social media and sees another woman thriving at her new job, another hosting a small group, and another sharing how God has “called her into something bigger.”
And quietly, in her heart, she whispers,
“God… what do You want me to do next?”
She starts to feel restless. Like maybe she’s missing something. Like maybe her current season—packing lunches, folding laundry, driving carpool, answering emails at a job that doesn’t excite her—is just a placeholder until her real purpose begins.
But what if… this is the place?
What if God isn’t withholding the “next thing,” but instead inviting her to be faithful in the right now?
Moses had led the Israelites through the Red Sea and into freedom. They were living in the wilderness. God had called them to celebrate the second Passover and set up the Tabernacle. God’s presence was apparent through a cloud that would rest on the Tabernacle. At night this cloud looked like a pillar of fire. When the cloud lifted and moved, then the Israelites would follow it and set up camp at the new location. However long the cloud stayed, the Israelites would stay.
“If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for a long time, the Israelites stayed and performed their duty to the Lord. Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Tabernacle for only a few days, so the people would stay for only a few days, as the Lord commanded. Then at the Lord’s command they would break camp and move on. Sometimes the cloud stayed only overnight and lifted the next morning. But day or night, when the cloud lifted, the people broke camp and moved on. Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. But as soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on. So they camped or traveled at the Lord’s command, and they did whatever the Lord told them through Moses.” Numbers 9:19-23
The Israelites traveled and camped as God guided. When we are following God’s lead, then we are where He wants us to be and doing what He wants us to do, no matter the location. Sometimes the obedience of the Israelites looked like them picking up and moving and sometimes their obedience looked like staying at the exact same spot. Direction from God is not just about our next big move or looking for “what’s next.” He has purpose in placing us exactly where we are for the season that we are in.
What if the ministry God currently has you in is in the conversations you have with your kids in the backseat…
the kindness you show to the cashier…
the integrity you carry in a workplace no one applauds…
the text you send to a hurting friend?
We often live like our purpose is somewhere else—on the other side of a new opportunity, a different season, or a bigger platform. But God’s pattern throughout Scripture is different. He uses ordinary places for extraordinary impact.
Sometimes we are so busy looking ahead that we miss the holy ground beneath us.
God is not waiting for you to arrive somewhere else to use you. He is already at work in your current season—in your home, your job, your routines, your relationships.
So instead of constantly asking,
“God, what do You want me to do next?”
Maybe the better question is,
“God, how can I be faithful right here?”
This devotion is written by Amy Carrico.
Last Updated on March 31, 2026
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