Studies have shown that the greatest chance for you to get in an vehicle accident is within 2 miles of your house. That was true for me. September 13, 2003, we got in a nasty accident just a little over 1 mile from our house. This case happened not to be my fault, but the girl who did claim fault was less than 2 miles from home too.
When we're familiar, our guard is down. We'll watch our kids more closely in a new neighborhood than we would one we've lived in for years. We'll get out the map for navigation through a new town, but where we're familiar, we don't feel we need it. Am I the only one that feels uncomfortable doing regular grocery shopping in a store that is not the one I most frequent?
When it comes to the things of God, there is also a danger in familiarity. We get "used" to God revealing Himself a certain way. We get "familiar" with His grace. We become so knowledgable about the things of God that we lose the careful steps we took when we first believed.
God woke me up again this week. I love it. My last post was telling how God brought me through a valley in my life. Recently, I haven't been in a valley, so much as I have just been "familiar". God in a box. Cliche' Gospel. Same words, lost meaning.
The unfamiliar only comes as we make ourselves vulnerable. My first time in a new grocery store is uncomfortable because it's different than what I know. My first time through a town is the same way. When we read the bible, we ought to carefully digest each word, not rushing as though we know what God's message to our hearts is, but looking around every corner to see what might jump out. God's got new, fresh experience for each of us in His word. But only if we'll make ourselves vulnerable to venture into the unfamiliar.
