Hello Friend,
My favorite place to sit at Panera Bread is towards the back, in a corner opposite the drink machine. Normally, the drink lids are on top of the counter, to the left of the drink machine. Last week, without any warning, the manger moved them to a shelf directly below the “normal” spot. He moved them two feet, but he might as well have moved them two miles.
In a moment, everything changed and no one could locate the lids. Customer after customer, and even employees would fill their cup and automatically look to their left to grab a lid and then realize the lids were gone. In the two hours that followed the location change, not one person found the lids on their own.
A meaningful reflection of Jesus takes place when we stay alert.
Interestingly enough, the reflexive response was to immediately ask “where are the lids?” I didn’t notice a single person who scanned the area to locate the lids on their own. Each person had been trained to look on the left side of the drink machine…When unable to find lids in the “normal” location, these individuals were incapable or unwilling to search before asking. The lids were hidden in plain sight because customer after customer was operating on auto-pilot.
Truth: Operating on auto-pilot will lead to missing out on what God has for us.
Autopilot is one of the simplest ways to miss God. Because spiritual growth is connected to spiritual disciplines, routine is a major help when it comes to our relationship with Jesus. The dark side of routine can be the ease at which we maneuver through our routine on auto-pilot. We go to church each and every Sunday, we sit in the same seat, beside the same people. We do the same routines to the point that if God wants to change one little thing, we miss Him because we aren’t really looking for Him. If we don’t stay alert, we reach for God in the same place we are accustomed to finding Him.
One of the goals of spiritual maturity is that we remain alert to His voice and follow Him as He moves. Let’s be so attentive to His voice that even the slightest change is detected and welcomed because we are alert for where He is and what He wants to do.
Keep Reflecting Jesus!
Jonathan Howard