Which is it?

I started attending church in my adulthood 5 years ago when I was still building my relationship with God and trying to understand needed to change in my life. I was still nervous to attend church in person (a part of me thought I would catch fire when I walked in the doors, haha), so I started a routine of tuning into Transformation Church every Sunday.

As I listened to the pastor’s message, I would think about how to implement those learnings into my life that week and going forward. These sermons also helped me become more comfortable opening the bible and learning about the context of the versus that were discussed during these sermons. But something even better happened as I continued to grow in my faith and continued to surround myself with people who were also looking to grow in their faith.

When my boyfriend and I first started dating, he encouraged me to attend church in person. This sparked a new level for my relationship with the Lord. Instead of going to seek how I could implement the pastor’s words into my life, I began to seek the message that God was looking for me to receive for that moment. With this I acknowledged that the message the pastor is sharing may not be exactly what I am meant to hear, but will open a door to whatever God wanted me to see in that moment, implement that week, or change in my life overall. This change actually even made me look forward to church every Sunday and open new opportunities for me.

That being said, there were two back-to-back sermons this past month that sparked an interesting topic I wanted to pray about and look into more – Does God meet you where you are or does He expect you to meet Him where He wants you? 

About two weeks before I went into labor, the pastor shared John chapter 21 and stated that God cannot bless you if you are not where you need to be.

“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

John 21:3

After Jesus died on the cross, the disciples attempted to go back to life as it was prior to Jesus. Since they were originally fishermen, they returned to what was comfortable which was fishing, but in this moment they caught nothing. While this was their job before Jesus, this was no longer what they were called to do. Now they were called to go out and continue the work of spreading the knowledge of God. But, when Jesus joined them and instructed them on where to catch the fish later in this chapter, they successfully caught the fish. Going where Jesus guided them allowed them to achieve what they were seeking.

A week after I gave birth to my daughter, I listened to that weeks sermon virtually (same church) where the pastor shared John chapter 20 and stated that God will meet you where you are.

“Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe”.

John 20:27

Thomas had said earlier in this chapter that unless he puts his fingers where the nails were in Jesus’s hand he will not believe that he is alive. Jesus directing Thomas to put his finger to his hand is responding to his previous statement meeting Thomas where he was and giving him what he needed at that moment.

So, I thought to myself and asked God:

What is it – do you meet us where we are or do we need to be where you want us to be before you can bless us?

The first thing that I realized is the second message is the one that is shared most often with what I believe is a goal to bring more unbelievers to God. After I asked this question I found myself reading Mark 9 in the Tony Evans Study Bible which has a Hope Words statement at the top of the page:

“God will meet you where you are in order to take you where he wants you to be”

This almost confirmed that initial thought I had that this is the most common message shared to bring others closer to God, but it didn’t confirm it is the right message for me. While this may drive non-believers to follow Christ, one thing I have learned is a relationship with God is just like any other relationship we have. As He gives, He expects us to give as well.

I continued to contemplate this and this past week I felt I finally got my answer during my bible reading. I believe both statements are correct.  God will meet you where you are, but as you continue to build in your relationship with Him he will not bless you if you are not where He needs you to be. I have often seen this in my life. There have been seasons where even after I decided to commit my life to Christ I find myself drinking more than usual, talking badly about people, and just overall participating in things that I should not be and in those seasons I feel more alone and having to navigate situations that I may not have come across if I would have done things differently.

But in seasons where I constantly pray, seek God for guidance, and do the work I feel He is driving me to do, I receive more blessings in return. An example of this is my pregnancy – I had a very healthy pregnancy that resulted in a beautiful healthy baby girl. And we ended up back in a repaired home after the fire three weeks before she was born which was what I felt God was telling me would happen ever since we found out we were pregnant. I have also seen this in my career. When I pray about an opportunity and follow where I feel God is pushing me towards, I am successful, but when I seek opportunities on my own, I am completely miserable.

Maybe for some God is meeting them where they are because that is what they needed in the season, but for others that have shown Him what they are capable of He expects more because He knows we are capable and are destined for bigger things.

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

Psalms 30:5

What do you think – Will God always meet us where we are, do we need to ensure we are where God needs us to be to receive blessings, or is it a little of both?