When You Know Better: Why experiencing God isn’t the same as responding to Him

Most of the time I write about places, movement, and what God is doing along the way.

But every now and then, there’s something that feels too important to just pass by.

This is one of those.

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Jesus says something in Matthew 11 that should stop us in our tracks.

He looks at His own people—towns that watched Him heal, teach, and move—and says:

It will be better for Sodom than for you.

Let that sink in.

Sodom.

The place everyone points to as the example of judgment…

…and Jesus says they would have responded better.

That’s wild.

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Here’s the part that gets me:

Those people weren’t far from Jesus.

They were right there.

They saw it.

They heard it.

They experienced it.

…and still didn’t change.

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And if I’m honest, that’s where this gets personal.

I’ve had moments like that too.

I’ve stood in places where God felt so near—

in worship, in nature, on the mission field, in conversations that felt bigger than coincidence.

Moments where I knew He was moving.

And yet…

It’s possible to experience something real with God

and still walk away unchanged.

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We have been given even more than they had.

We know the cross, the resurrection, the full story.

We’ve got the Spirit.

We’ve got light they didn’t have.

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So here’s the real question:

What am I doing with what I know?

Not:

• Do I go to church?

• Do I read my Bible?

But:

👉 Is it actually changing me?

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Because here’s the truth:

You can be around Jesus… and still not respond to Him.

You can sit in those moments.

Travel to those places.

Experience God moving.

…and still walk away the same.

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Jesus isn’t impressed with proximity.

He’s after response.

Repentance.

Obedience.

Abiding.

Real movement.

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And yeah—there’s a warning here.

Because when we know better and still don’t respond,

God doesn’t just ignore it.

But hear this clearly:

His correction isn’t to crush you—it’s to bring you back.

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All the places we go, all the moments we experience—

they were never meant to just stay memories.

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So today—

Don’t just visit places where God is moving.

Don’t just chase meaningful moments.

Don’t just stand near Him.

👉 Respond.

Because the difference isn’t where you’ve been…

it’s what you do with what you’ve seen.

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If this hit home for you, I’d genuinely love to hear your story—where you’ve seen God move, and how it’s changed you.