I think God goes out of His way to speak our language.

In fact I know He does. At least I know He did. I’ve been reading Jason Clark’s book Surrendered and Untamed lately and thinking about Peter. Jason makes a great point that sometimes God’s favor means fishing all night without catching a thing to prepare you for the catch of a lifetime in the morning. That one stuck with me for a while. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Jesus not only went out of His way to be dramatic, but He did it in the way Peter would have appreciated most as a fisherman.

I’ve always loved to work and what I do for a living ranks extremely high on my priority and attention scale. In fact, I like work so much that I started my first blog just to help others be more effective in their work as well. I’ve also noticed that God gets my attention the fastest when things at work are either going incredibly well or not so well at all. He’s used these times to teach me, to direct and re-direct me, to correct me, to inspire me with new ideas, and sometimes just to show off. I can honestly say that what I do consumes the majority of my thoughts, passion, and prayers.

For this reason, I think it’s really unfortunate when folks assume they can only find God’s will by going out and doing something crazy. One of my pastor’s mantras is that “a change of pace + a change of place = a change of perspective, which I can really appreciate, especially when I get stuck in the rut of routine or need a chance to clear my head. At the same time, Peter got quite a change of perspective, but he didn’t need to take the initiative to change his pace or his place. Jesus took the initiative to find him.

Let’s start looking out for the God who goes out of His way to reach us. That’s what Jesus has been doing since the day He arrived on our planet. And I’m not talking just about “appreciating the beautiful sunsets” and “smelling the flowers” that He gives us each day. I’m talking in about the details of our normal lives. I think it’s a sign of faithfulness on our part to just dig in and not get fancy and over-complicate things. If we follow the natural bent God puts inside of us, make the most of the assignments He gives us, and in all our ways acknowledge Him, it shouldn’t be any wonder when He shows up along the way – in dramatic fashion.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, speaker, and thought leader. To learn more about his services, visit NathanMagnuson.com/consulting or follow him on Twitter.