How You Might Be Missing What God Is Doing Right Now

Have you ever had someone give you directions that left you more confused than when you first asked?

I am a landmark guy.

I need directions like, “Turn left at the McDonald’s, go until you see the Dollar General, then take a right.” That works for me.

But don’t tell me, “Go to the old Johnson place and take a left…” I don’t know where the old Johnson place is.

At the same time, don’t give me road names or route numbers. I was listening to someone in our church recently explaining directions to someone else using highway numbers, and I had no idea what he was talking about.

No matter your preference, there’s one response that always stands out to me. When someone gives directions using a landmark and the other person says, “I’ve never noticed that before.”

That’s happened to me. I pointed out a specific place once, and the person responded, “When did that get there?”

My answer? “At least the eight years I’ve been here.”

They had been around it for years… and still missed it.

It’s possible to be fully present somewhere and not see what’s right in front of you.

Spiritually, we do that more than we realize.

In Genesis 28, Jacob has a moment like this. He is on a journey, traveling to find a wife, when he stops for the night. As he sleeps, God gives him a powerful vision. We often call it Jacob’s Ladder.

In that moment, God reaffirms the promise first given to Abraham. He promises blessing, descendants, land, His presence, and His protection. He even tells Jacob, “I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Then Jacob wakes up and says, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

God wasn’t absent.

He just wasn’t recognized.

And that still happens to us.

We can be near Jesus and still miss Him.

So here’s a question worth asking today:

Where might Jesus already be present in your life, but you’re not recognizing Him?

To practice this, take a moment and slow down enough to ask:

1) What is God doing here?

2) What might I be overlooking?

It is easy to move through life on autopilot, going from one thing to the next, missing the quiet ways God is at work. We don’t usually drift away from His presence. More often, we drift out of awareness of it.

The problem is rarely that Jesus is absent. It is that we are misaligned.

But here is the good news: alignment is not complicated.

You don’t have to chase something far off or wait for a dramatic moment. You can realign right where you are.

Lift your eyes. Pay attention. Invite Him into what you are already walking through.

God is not distant. He is present. And He is more involved in your life than you may realize.

So don’t rush past today.

Look again. Listen closely. Ask Him to open your eyes.

And as you do, don’t be surprised if you begin to see that He has been with you all along.

Let’s live with that kind of awareness this week. Not wondering if God is near, but walking confidently in the reality that He is.

Anyway, I was just thinking...