You Might Be Worshiping God In The Wrong Place
Are You Worshiping in the Wrong Place? What Jacob's Journey Teaches Us About God's Presence
It is easy to go through all the right motions of faith and still feel like something is slightly off. You show up, you worship, you pray, you serve, but something feels misplaced. The story of Jacob in Genesis 35 speaks directly to that feeling, and it raises a question worth sitting with: What if you are worshiping in the wrong place?
Who Was Jacob and Why Does His Story Matter?
Jacob was the grandson of Abraham, the son of Isaac, and a man with a complicated past. He was a deceiver by nature. He conned his twin brother Esau out of his birthright and later stole the family blessing that was meant for Esau. When Esau threatened to kill him, Jacob fled.
Running for his life with nothing but the clothes on his back, Jacob stopped for the night in a place called Bethel. He used a stone as a pillow and fell asleep. That night, God showed up.
What Happened When Jacob Met God at Bethel?
In Genesis 28, Jacob had a dream of a stairway to heaven with angels ascending and descending. God spoke to Him and made a promise: the same covenant He made with Abraham, He now extended to Jacob. He promised to multiply his descendants and to be with him everywhere he went.
When Jacob woke up, he said something remarkable. "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it." (Genesis 28:16, New Living Translation)
Bethel was not a beautiful or impressive place. It was rocky, arid, and barren. But that is exactly where God chose to meet Him. Sometimes we expect to encounter God in a big revival or a powerful worship service, but He may be ready to meet us right in the middle of our emptiness.
Why Did Jacob Stop Short of Where God Was Sending Him?
After years of working for his uncle Laban, being deceived himself, gaining a family and flocks, and wrestling with God in Genesis 32, Jacob was finally heading back home. God had promised Him the land of Bethel. That was the destination.
But Jacob stopped 20 miles short. He camped in a city called Shechem. And he did not just camp there temporarily. He purchased land. He set up an altar. He settled.
Jacob was worshiping in the wrong place. He was doing the right things, but in the wrong location. He had settled for good enough when God had something more for Him.
What Does It Mean to Settle for "Good Enough" in Your Faith?
Shechem was not a terrible place. Jacob had security there. He had a city nearby, resources around him, and a sense of stability. But it was not Bethel. It was not where God told Him to go.
This is a picture of what can happen in our own spiritual lives. We find a comfortable place. We have a routine. We go to church, we pray sometimes, we do the things. But deep down, something feels slightly off. That may be because God is calling us somewhere deeper, and we have settled for just enough to feel okay.
God's word to Jacob in Genesis 35:1 was direct: "Get up and go to Bethel. Settle there, and build an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau." (Genesis 35:1, New Living Translation)
What Are the Steps God Called Jacob to Take Before Moving Forward?
Before Jacob could move toward Bethel, there was a process. God did not wait for Jacob to have it all together before calling Him. But there was still a preparation involved.
Get Rid of the Foreign Gods
Jacob told His household to throw away anything that was pulling their attention away from God. Foreign gods represent whatever competes with God for first place in our lives. It could be work, relationships, habits, or even family. Anything that consistently pulls your focus away from God deserves a hard look.
Purify Yourselves
Jacob called his people to purify themselves. The truth is, we cannot clean ourselves spiritually. But Jesus already did that work. As it says in 1 Corinthians 6:11: "You were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11, New Living Translation)
Every verb in that verse is passive. God is the one doing the cleaning. Our job is to come to Him.
Change Your Clothes
This speaks to our outward life reflecting what God has done inwardly. It is about being willing to let what Christ has done for you show. Not having all the answers, but being confident in what He has done in your life.
What If You Are Not Ready for What God Is Calling You To?
Here is something important about Jacob's story. God called Him before He had it all figured out. The calling came first. The process followed. God did not wait for Jacob to be perfectly prepared before giving Him a direction.
If you feel unqualified for what God is placing on your heart, you are in good company. The question is not whether you are ready. The question is whether you are willing to trust Him and take the next step.
What Does It Look Like to Take It One Day at a Time?
There is a small but powerful detail in Genesis 35. When Jacob's household handed over their foreign gods, Jacob did not burn them or destroy them the way Moses destroyed the golden calf. He hid them. He buried them under a tree.
Scripture never tells us he went back for them. He just kept walking.
Sometimes we want to quit everything cold turkey, and that is admirable. But sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is just put it away for today. Hide it. Walk away from it for 24 hours. Then do it again tomorrow. Faithfulness is often built one day at a time, not in one dramatic moment.
Why Does God Sometimes Call Us to Vulnerable Places?
Bethel was 20 miles uphill from Shechem. In open, barren terrain, Jacob's entire household was visible to everyone around them. They were exposed. They were vulnerable.
And yet, Genesis 35:5 tells us: "As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob's family." (Genesis 35:5, New Living Translation)
God shielded them along the way. He will do the same for you. Vulnerability before God and before your community is not weakness. It is the posture that invites His protection and provision.
What Is the Difference Between Knowing a Place and Knowing God?
When Jacob first named the place Bethel in Genesis 28, he was naming a location. He knew the place where God had appeared.
But in Genesis 35:7, after everything he had been through, he called it El Bethel, which means the God of the house of God. He was no longer just naming a place. He was declaring a relationship with the God who had answered Him in His day of distress.
That is the difference between religion and relationship. One knows the place. The other knows the God of the place.
What Does It Mean That Everyone Else Called It Luz?
The narrator in Genesis 35 has to clarify that Bethel was also called Luz, because that was the name everyone else used. Jacob was the one who called it Bethel. The maps said Luz. The surrounding cities said Luz.
Not everyone will recognize what God is doing in your life. Not everyone will understand the encounter you have had with Him or the transformation that is taking place. But that does not change what happened. You still go. You still worship. You still build the altar to the God who answered you in your day of distress.
Life Application
This week, take an honest look at where you have settled. Like Jacob in Shechem, it is possible to be doing all the right things in the wrong place, close to where God wants you but not quite there. The challenge this week is to identify one area of your life where you have settled for good enough instead of pressing into what God is actually calling you toward. It might be your prayer life, your devotional time, a habit you keep returning to, or a relationship that is pulling your attention away from God.
You do not have to fix everything at once. Just put it away for today. Take one step uphill toward your Bethel.
Ask yourself these questions as you reflect this week:
- Where have I settled for Shechem when God has been calling me to Bethel?
- What foreign gods, habits, or distractions have I allowed to share space with my worship?
- Am I willing to be vulnerable before God and my community about where I am really at spiritually?
- Do I truly believe that God answers prayer, and am I praying with that expectation?
- What would it look like for me to take just one step closer to God today, even if I do not feel ready?
God is not waiting for you to have it all together. He called Jacob before Jacob was ready. He is calling you too. Get up. Go up. Build the altar. Worship the God who answers in the day of distress, and who has been with you everywhere you have gone.