God can move anywhere into any space. Clean, unclean, secular, sacred, professional, social, and everywhere in between. There is no place that is immune to the presence of God moving through his people. God transforms mundane places into holy places. Chariots, upper rooms, tanners’ homes, and dining tables become sanctuaries as God moves into them.
God Moves Everywhere: Transforming Spaces
This idea begins to untangle the cynicism being woven into various areas of our lives. Cynicism, like a dark winding rope, strangles our everyday circumstances of hope and goodwill. Amplified by the echo chambers of social media and news networks, it forms us into cynics among our coworkers, with our families, at our churches, and in our neighborhoods.
Sometimes we are caught unaware by the sinister belief that everyone is self-motivated, self-protective, and self-aggrandizing. We can start to believe that everything is a lie and pronounce judgment before we understand. This is not what God desires for us in these spaces and circumstances in life.
When God moves into our circumstances, and when God moves you and me into different spaces, wonder displaces cynicism. The contempt, apathy, selfishness, and cynicism in our world are not strong enough to keep God’s movement at bay. Because of the Spirit of God that lives inside us, if God decides to move you and me into a geography, circumstance, or social space, that place will be different. The atmosphere and environment can change by the power of God within us. Consider how powerful and remarkable that is.
God has a plan to release his shalom, beauty, restoration, healing, and salvation in you, through you, all around you. Whether God is manifesting captivity and liberation for the Hebrews in Egypt, causing thousands of Jewish migrants at Pentecost to witness the Spirit’s movement, prompting Philip to invite the salvation of a seeking Ethiopian official, or stirring you and me to take action in our particular localities, God is moving, and we get to move with him! No place in your city is off-limits to the presence of God. There is no corner of your campus or city where God isn’t moving. And in your life, there is no limit to where God wants to move in and take up residence!
Responding to God’s Movement with Bold Obedience
Like anything else, learning to discern the movement of God takes time and invites us into a balance. On the one hand, we should not let our anxiety and impatience rush us into action before we hear God’s voice. On the other hand, we shouldn’t become passive spectators, assuming God will do everything. God is moving, so we should be bold, but we must remember that it is God’s initiative, not ours, so we should be humble. Bold humility is the mark of a person who has taken time to hone their discernment.
As we see God moving, we must be willing to move with him, even if we’re not totally sure what he’s doing.
Walking with God in Every Space
Obedience is key. Even if we fail, we are growing and improving. When you sense a nudge from the Holy Spirit, just try it out and keep honing your discernment of God’s voice, even if it feels awkward (Beyond Awkward: When Talking about Jesus Is Outside Your Comfort Zone [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014]). (We have to imagine that Philip felt more than a little awkward running next to an Ethiopian chariot, right?)
Bold Humility: The Key to Discernment
Our God can move anywhere. Are we willing to move with him?
Adapted from Reviving Mission by Linson Daniel, Jon Hietbrink, and Eric Rafferty. ©2025 Linson Daniel, Jon Hietbrink, and Eric Rafferty. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press. www.ivpress.com.
