THIS IS NOT COMMON

This Is Not Common

And the men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?” — 1 Samuel 6:20

“The presence of God is not less powerful today. It is less honored.” — PG

Church is familiar. The songs are familiar. The language is familiar. The rhythm is familiar. We know when to stand. We know when to clap. We know when to lift our hands. But here is the tension. Attending church does not automatically equal encountering Him.

You can be present in the room and never actually experience His presence. There is an old saying that “familiarity breeds contempt.” I disagree. Familiarity breeds apathy. And apathy breeds contempt. Apathy is the middle ground. It is where honor fades quietly. It is where reverence slowly leaks out of the room. And once apathy sets in, contempt is not far behind. Because when something becomes common, it loses its weight.

And many have reduced church to one question.

“What is in it for me?”

When the real question should be this.

“What dimension of me will I find in Him today?”

Because when you lose mystery, you lose majesty. And when you lose majesty, you lose wonder. And when you lose wonder, there is no wonder left in worship. That is exactly what we see in 1 Samuel 6.

Israel is losing a battle. They panic. And instead of repentance, they reach for the Ark. Not to honor it. To use it. “If we bring the Ark, we will win.” They treated His presence like a formula. But His presence will never be reduced to a formula. God will never be reduced to a strategy. So they lose. The Ark is captured. And a word is spoken over the moment: Ichabod. The glory has departed.

But here is what is powerful. Even in enemy territory, God begins to strike cities with plagues. Because His presence may be misplaced, but it is never diminished. His presence never loses its standard. Just because you lost His presence does not mean His presence lost its power or its protocol. The Philistines did not know God, but they feared Him. They said, “Get this out of here.” Meanwhile Israel, the people who knew Him, became casual with what they once reverenced. That is the danger of familiarity.

You stop responding to what once made you worship. Hebrews 12:28–29 says, “Let us have grace… with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” His presence does not adjust to your condition. You must adjust to His holiness. Then the Ark returns. Not to just anywhere. It returns to Beth Shemesh. A priestly city. A Levitical city. A place that was trained to host His presence. And this is where the message turns.

Because His presence can become common to spiritual people. These were not outsiders. They were insiders. They were trained. They knew the law. They knew the protocols. They knew the history. But they lost reverence. They were trained that the fire on the altar must never go out. This meant His presence requires continual attention. Not Sunday moments, but daily maintenance. They were trained that the Ark must be covered and not exposed. This meant holy things are not to be handled casually. There are boundaries to glory. They were trained that consecration comes before contact. This meant you prepare before you approach. You do not run into His presence. You ready your life for it.

But when His presence becomes common, everything shifts. You still sing, but you are not surrendered. You still serve, but you are not sensitive You still show up, but you are not stewarding. Malachi 1:6 says, “If I am a Father, where is My honor?” You see, training without trembling turns sacred moments into stale routines. You can know how to host Him and still forget how to honor Him. And then comes the moment that reveals the real issue.

They looked into the Ark. This was not a mistake. This was not confusion. This was casual dishonor. They knew better. But they no longer feared better. Numbers 4:20 had already warned them not to even look at the holy things. Yet they did it anyway. Why? Because what is common no longer feels dangerous.

You can be close to God, involved in ministry, surrounded by His presence, and still lose the fear of the Lord. This was not ignorance. It was irreverence dressed as curiosity. They were close to Him, but not careful with Him. That is the tragedy. But even in this moment, God is still revealing something deeper.

The Ark moves again. To Kirjath Jearim. A name that means wood between the shoulders. The Ark was never meant to sit on a cart. It was meant to be carried. And the movement of the Ark reveals something prophetic. You do not access His presence casually. You access it through praise and through the Son.

Judah means praise. Benjamin means son of my right hand. Psalm 22:3 says God inhabits the praise of His people. Romans 8:34 tells us Jesus is seated at the right hand interceding for us.

The Ark was never pointing to a box. It was pointing to a Person. And the question still stands today. Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? Not the casual. Not the careless. Not the familiar. But those who understand this.

This is not common.

This is not routine.

This is not performance.

This is holy!

We will not treat His presence like a program. We will not reduce His glory to a moment. We will not make common what heaven calls holy. A.W. Tozer once said, “The presence of God is the central fact of Christianity.” And yet it is the very thing many have learned to live without.

Live This Out Loud:

Turn On: “Is He Worthy” by Jesus Image and proceed through the rest of this blog.

Examine your approach to church. Are you attending or are you encountering?

Restore reverence in your personal time with God. Slow down and honor His presence.

Remove anything in your life that has made you casual with holy things.

Come into every gathering asking, what dimension of me will I find in His presence today?

My Prayer:

Holy Spirit, I come to You in the name of Jesus. Restore the fear of the Lord in my life. Remove every trace of apathy and familiarity that has made me casual with Your presence. Teach me to honor what is holy, to steward what is sacred, and to never treat Your presence as common. Let my life be marked by reverence, hunger, and awe. Amen.

May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as He has promised. — Deuteronomy 1:11

Marked By His Presence,

-PG