Let’s be honest… most of us like what we like. Maybe it’s the songs we grew up singing in church, or the way a certain pastor preaches. Maybe technology in worship makes us uncomfortable. Maybe we wouldn’t dream of leaving our Bible at home and using a phone app. Or perhaps the energy of a younger pastor feels a little… too energetic.
(Full disclosure – I’m not a fan of smoke machines. I know… “but they help with the lighting”… but sometimes it feels like it’s 1980 and I’m walking into the Casino at Caesars Palace.)
Suffice to say, we humans like patterns. We like familiar rhythms. And when something in church doesn’t match our expectations, a tiny voice creeps in: “Does God really approve of this?”
But here’s the thing: God is never limited by our personal preferences.
Think about it. God often worked in ways people didn’t expect:
- Gideon, hiding in a winepress, became the man God used to save Israel.
- David, the youngest shepherd boy, became the king.
- Mary, a young teenage girl, carried the Messiah.
- At Pentecost, the Spirit came, and everyone heard God’s message in their own language – confusing, new, and maybe even uncomfortable for some.
The Bible is full of moments where God chose the unexpected, the overlooked, or the unconventional. And He still does.
So what does that mean for us today? Do we think that God should do things our way? Are we so focused on what we like that we miss what God might be doing right in front of us?
Maybe it’s in the song you’re not sure about. Maybe it’s the person sitting next to you raising their hands to the Lord in worship. Perhaps it’s in the new technology that’s helping someone dive into Scripture for the first time. God’s ways are often opposite our own expectations, and His Spirit is at work in ways we often don’t immediately recognize. I remember the 16-day revival at Asbury University in Kentucky back in 2023. For over two weeks, students and visitors from all over the world came there to worship, pray, and repent. It was a powerful move of the Holy Spirit! And yet there were longtime Christians questioning if it was authentic. Again, “Does God really approve of this?” thinking.
Some questions to consider:
- Do I try to fit God into the patterns I’m comfortable with?
- Do I expect God to show up the way I think He should?
- Am I possibly limiting God’s power in my life by my own expectations?
- Am I open to God working in ways that surprise or challenge me?
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:8-9
Former Blackout Artist 