Have you ever felt like something with your life just wasn’t quite right? Like that guy who just can’t catch the rhythm of a song while “dancing” or your tone deaf friend who has no idea that her rendition of Celine Dion’s “All by Myself” is exactly how her song should be sung. Maybe you sense that everybody in the room is watching you dance (and giggling) or that you’re suddenly singing to an empty room—but it’s all you know and escaping that rut would be treading into the great unknown.

Our journey of faith can sometimes resemble that of a rhythm-less dancer or tone-deaf singer. We live the way we live because that’s how we’ve always lived. We do things a certain way because that’s just “what you do.” How do we break out of these ruts that seem to destine us for mediocrity or constant irritation, like the spiritual equivalent of a tiny rock in our shoe?

I recently spoke to a pastor friend of mine who made a radical shift in his approach to ministry. He felt tweaked by the Holy Spirit, a divine itching to move his tribe closer to the heart of God in the way they approached ministry. And so the dance ended—and a new one began.

He expressed to me his frustrations in watching the people he sought to more deeply disciple with this type of ministry approach abandon the church for more traditional and comfortable church experiences, not to mention the pain of watching faithful and generous givers seek a more traditional worship house. Yet, there was a skip in his speech, a “sanctified-I-don’t-care” attitude as my friend Tri Robinson likes to put it. That small lingering doubt of whether he did the right thing was replaced by joy in a new direction of ministry that was a closer expression to the ministry of Jesus.

When a shift takes place in our hearts, it is oftentimes seismic in nature—seemingly slight at first to us yet far-reaching in its implications for us personally and those around us.

At the ripe old age of 20, King Josiah led Judah through a similar shift. For years, the country had been burdened by the weight of Solomon’s decision to allow foreigners to erect altars to their gods. What may have been perceived as an innocent olive branch by Solomon to bring about harmony instead became the country’s spiritual Turkish Delight, luring people away from God. No matter how godly the king, the altars remained—until Josiah.

In his twelfth year [Josiah] began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles, carved idols and cast images. Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles, the idols and the images. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. He burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. – 2 Chronicles 34:3b-5

Maybe he was too young to know that status quo shouldn’t be touched, but Josiah had no qualms about doing something that may have seemed rather simple: Remove the altars of false gods. As a leader, he recognized it was challenging the people’s allegiance to God. So, Josiah tore down the altars in the high places.

Whether you’re leading a nation or simply trying to follow God’s call on your life, are you willing to do what it takes to escape your tone deaf world and join the symphony God has for your life? Do you want rhythm for your spiritual journey or are you settling for an awkward dance? Pray and ask God to show you the seismic shifts you need to make—and experience what faith can be like in much more pleasant-sounding pitch.