Today I was reminded of a story I came across about a year ago. People were pulled off planes, ushered out of the secure area, corralled into a jam-packed waiting area and re-screened at Newark Liberty International Airport. Why? A man went the wrong way through a security checkpoint.
So how can someone just walk past a TSA guard into a “sterile” area without being noticed? One news reporter suggested the guard was glassy-eyed; his routine dulled him to anything out of the ordinary.
As Christians, it is easy for us to become glassy-eyed. This can happen when we expect God to reveal himself the same way he has in the past. Now there is something to be said for recognizing patterns in the ways God speaks to us – it helps us determine whether or not it is God we are hearing.
However, when we insist that he reveal himself as he has in the past, we hold him hostage by forcing his hand. Needless to say, he won’t go for that. The God of the Universe will not go through our checkpoints according to our rules. He is free to reveal himself in new and unexpected ways. He is a God of surprises. The Bible says that “his ways are not our ways.”
When Jesus rose from the grave, no one, not even his disciples, really expected to see him again. They expected him to defeat the Romans. When the Romans crucified him, the disciples were looking the wrong way.
We become glassy-eyed when we settle into a routine that looks for God to show himself in the usual ways and places. When God chooses to go through one of our checkpoints the “wrong way” we miss him because we are looking the other way.
God loves to go the wrong way through our checkpoints. He loves to surprise us with fresh insights into his majesty. Will you detect him when he does?
Missions with Mike 