The Next Steps | Where are you?

Devotional

Day 1: The Breath That Awakens Dead Places

God’s breath is not mere air but a divine force that resurrects what seems lifeless. Just as Adam became fully alive only when God breathed into him, our spirits remain incomplete without this sacred ruach—the power that ignites purpose, heals brokenness, and stirs dormant faith. Scripture reveals this breath as the Holy Spirit, the same breath Jesus gave His disciples to propel them into their mission. To ask God to “breathe on us” is to hunger for revival, to plead for the unseen power that rewires our spiritual numbness into boldness. This isn’t about physical sensation but a heart cry for activation. Where might you need God’s breath to revive what feels buried or stagnant? [27:37]

“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” (John 20:21–22, ESV)

Reflection: What area of your life feels spiritually dormant or disconnected? How might inviting God’s breath into that space shift your perspective or actions?

Day 2: Hiding Among Trees When God Calls Your Name

Adam hid among trees, masking shame with foliage, yet God still called his name. Hiding persists today—behind busyness, achievements, or even church activity—as we fear exposure of our flaws, doubts, or unresolved sin. God’s question, “Where are you?” isn’t for His benefit but ours, a mirror held up to our self-deception. Like Adam, we often mistake hiding for safety, not realizing it isolates us from the grace that seeks us. What masks have you crafted to avoid confronting your true spiritual condition? [35:29]

“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:8–9, ESV)

Reflection: What “tree” have you hidden behind lately to avoid God’s gaze? What truth about yourself feels hardest to bring into His light?

Day 3: The Cost of Staying Comfortably Stuck

Comfort zones become prisons when they keep us from God’s next assignment. Adam blamed Eve; Eve blamed the serpent—both chose excuses over ownership, delaying redemption. We, too, cling to familiar pain, half-hearted faith, or controlled routines because radical obedience feels costly. Yet stagnation has its own price: unhealed wounds, muted purpose, and a heart that grows colder by degrees. What familiar ache or compromise have you tolerated instead of letting God disrupt it? [49:47]

“He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.” (Luke 19:1–4, ESV)

Reflection: What fear or comfort makes you resist God’s nudge toward change? What would it look like to “climb down” from your safe perch today?

Day 4: When Conviction Lights the Next Step

Conviction isn’t condemnation—it’s a compass. After Pentecost, the crowd didn’t wallow in guilt but asked, “What shall we do?” Their honesty turned shame into fuel for transformation. God’s questions always lead toward movement: once we name where we are, He illuminates the next right choice, however small. What step is God highlighting that you’ve delayed out of overwhelm or self-doubt? [58:03]

“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37, ESV)

Reflection: What specific action has God repeatedly placed on your heart? What practical barrier keeps you from starting, and how can you address it?

Day 5: Molded By the Potter’s Relentless Hands

A potter reshapes clay not to punish it but to fulfill its potential. God’s relentless molding feels disruptive—shattering old forms, pressing insecurities, spinning us beyond control—yet His hands never abandon the process. Like Zacchaeus, we’re invited not to perfection but to pliability, trusting the Potter’s vision over our limited perspective. Where is God asking you to surrender to His reshaping, even if it scatters your current sense of stability? [53:19]

“So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.” (Jeremiah 18:3–4, ESV)

Reflection: What part of your life feels “spoiled” or unworthy of God’s purpose? How might His reworking bring freedom you haven’t yet imagined?

Sermon Summary

God’s breath brings life where there was no life. Genesis shows that Adam was not complete until God breathed into him, and Scripture carries that same God-inspired breath into believers. The Spirit’s breath is not something natural that someone feels like a fan blowing over them. God breathes into the spirit, brings fresh life, and activates what has gone dormant.

The next step starts with one simple but hard question: “Where are you?” A phone cannot navigate to a destination until it knows its current location, and a person cannot move where God is calling them until there is honesty about their spiritual location. God asked Adam, “Where are you?” not because God lost Adam in the garden, but because Adam needed to confront where sin, fear, and shame had brought him.

Adam’s hiding shows that God cannot heal, forgive, or bless the version of a person that they pretend to be. Fear can hide behind control. Sin can hide behind excuses. Loneliness can hide behind busyness. Spiritual emptiness can even hide behind church attendance, a pew, a guitar, a keyboard, or a pulpit. God’s question reaches past the public answer and asks for the real answer: Where are you really?

Adam also reveals why honest confession matters. He heard God, became afraid, and hid. Awareness of sin can become fear, and fear can push a person deeper into hiding. The thing keeping someone stuck may be unforgiveness, comfort, disappointment, shame from the past, or fear of what obedience will cost. God calls His children to stop using those things as reasons to keep saying no.

God meets people where they are, but He does not intend to leave them there. God pursued Adam in the garden. Jesus pursued Zacchaeus in the tree, called him by name, entered his home, and Zacchaeus changed the direction of his life. Jesus loves people without requiring them to clean themselves up first, but a real encounter with Him produces an honest response and a changed life.

Acts shows that conviction leads somewhere. When the people were cut to the heart at Pentecost, they asked, “What shall we do next?” God’s lamp does not show the whole road at once. It shows the next step. Purpose is not found by sitting on the bench forever, but by admitting where someone is, laying down what is keeping them there, and saying yes to the step God puts in front of them.

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Key Takeaways

1. God already knows where you are. [36:08] God’s question is never about gathering information. God sees the fear, pain, questions, hidden sin, and disappointment that nobody else sees. The honest answer is not for God’s benefit, but for the heart that has learned to avoid the truth. Grace begins to work deeply when hiding turns into confession. [36:08]
2. Hiding can happen inside church. [39:28] Church activity can look like spiritual life while still becoming a place to avoid God’s call. A pew, an instrument, a role, or a busy schedule can become a cover for fear and disobedience. God is not impressed by looking busy for the kingdom while resisting the deeper place of surrender. The question remains whether outward involvement is flowing from obedience or covering up avoidance. [39:28]
3. Fear exposes what keeps people stuck. [42:30] Adam’s progression was awareness, fear, and hiding. Sin, shame, old wounds, comfort, and discouragement often become the unseen reasons a person stays spiritually frozen. God calls for more than naming the location of the struggle. God calls for honesty about why that struggle still has a hold. [42:30]
4. Jesus meets people and changes them. [51:15] Jesus met Zacchaeus in the tree before Zacchaeus had fixed his life. Yet Jesus’ love did not leave Zacchaeus in the same direction he had been living. A real encounter with Christ brings both welcome and change, both grace and conviction. God embraces His children as they are and molds them for kingdom purpose. [51:15]
5. Conviction should lead to a response. [58:03] The people at Pentecost were cut to the heart and then asked what they should do next. Conviction that never moves toward response can become another moment of hearing without obeying. God usually does not reveal every step down the road. God puts the next step in front of a willing heart.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[27:37] - The Significance of God’s Breath
[29:39] - Prayer for Fresh Life and Healing
[31:32] - Introducing Next Steps
[32:13] - Where Are You Spiritually?
[34:54] - God Calls Adam From Hiding
[37:39] - Stop Pretending Everything Is Fine
[40:51] - What Is Keeping You There?
[43:46] - Fear of Obedience and Change
[46:59] - God Meets You Where You Are
[49:07] - Zacchaeus Changes Direction
[54:28] - The Next Step Starts With Honesty
[56:03] - A Season of Activation
[57:24] - Conviction Leads to What’s Next
[62:01] - Every Believer Has a Purpose
[66:01] - Be Honest With God

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Genesis 3:8-9
“And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” [34:54]

Luke 19:1-10
“He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’” [49:07]

Acts 2:37
“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” [58:03]

Genesis 2:7
“Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” [27:43]

Observation questions

In Genesis 3:8-9, what do Adam and Eve do when they hear God in the garden, and what question does God ask Adam? [36:00]
What progression is seen in Adam’s response after sin: awareness, fear, and hiding? [42:30]
In Luke 19, what does Jesus do first when He sees Zacchaeus, and what changes does Zacchaeus promise to make afterward? [51:15]
According to Acts 2:37, how do the people respond after they are cut to the heart by Peter’s message?

Interpretation questions

Since God already knew Adam’s location, why would God ask, “Where are you?” What does that question invite a person to face honestly? [36:44]
What does Adam’s hiding reveal about the way fear and shame can affect a person’s relationship with God? [43:39]
Jesus welcomed Zacchaeus before Zacchaeus corrected his life. How does Zacchaeus’s response show that grace is not permission to remain in the same direction? [51:32]
The crowd at Pentecost asked, “What shall we do?” Why is a response important when a person feels conviction rather than simply feeling emotional or guilty? [58:27]

Application questions

If God asked, “Where are you spiritually?” today, what honest answer would you give—not the public answer, but the real one? [01:06:43]
Is there something you may be hiding behind right now—busyness, control, church activity, a smile, comfort, or excuses? What might that hiding be protecting you from facing? [39:20]
Is fear of what obedience could cost keeping you from saying yes to God in any area? What is the specific outcome you are afraid of? [43:46]
Is there an old hurt, disappointment, sin, or lack of forgiveness that has kept you spiritually stuck longer than you want to admit? What would it look like to bring that honestly before God this week? [45:09]
Jesus met Zacchaeus where he was, but Zacchaeus changed direction after meeting Jesus. What is one area of your life where Jesus may be calling you to change direction—not just feel sorry, but take action? [52:08]
What is one next step that may be in front of you right now: returning to God, asking for help, forgiving someone, getting connected, serving, being baptized, or trusting Jesus again? What makes that step feel difficult? [54:39]
God’s light often shows the next step rather than the whole path. What is one small act of obedience you can take this week even if you do not yet know every future step? [59:33]

Sermon Clips

43s

#BeRealWithGod

“And so, you will never advance the purpose that God has placed within you until you stop pretending to be someone that you're not. That you need to have an honest admission of where you are spiritually in your life. And so maybe God is asking you this morning, or he's been asking you the last few weeks, or he's been asking you the last couple of years, son, daughter, where are you? Not physically, not where's your location at, but where are you spiritually? Where is your spiritual life?”

40s

#GodLovesYouWhereYouAre

“Jesus went to meet him where he was. So what does this tell us? Is that God loves you where you are today. Let let's understand this. No matter what you're struggling with, no matter where you are in your spiritual walk, no matter whatever the case may be, God loves you where you are. That is not lost. You don't have to do anything to attain God's love. he loves you way too much to leave you where you are. He loves you way too much to leave you in your struggle. He loves you way too much to leave you as you are.”

30s

#HonestyHeals

“So he asked Adam, Adam, where are you? And it's this idea that God cannot forgive, God cannot bless, God cannot heal the version of us that we pretend to be in this life. Right? Adam, God wanted to forgive Adam. God wanted to heal Adam. But in order for that to happen, Adam had to be honest about himself.”

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The Next Steps | Where are you? | Pastor Mike Saenz