Extraordinary in the Ordinary

It’s been said that one of the challenging things about life is that it’s so daily! Indeed it is. Life’s not always exciting, thrilling, full of emotional highs and great feelings. Most of the time life’s very ordinary. We get up, get ready, go to work, do our job, come home, go to bed and then do the same things all over again the next day. We go through the routines of daily living. Nothing seems too special. It’s just life — daily life!

One thing that often happens in the flow of daily life is the loss of expectation and anticipation of the special moments. We fall into the rut of the ordinary and fail to look for the extraordinary in our ordinary lives. Because of this, we miss many of the special moments and unique opportunities God brings our way. The ordinary anesthetizes us to the extraordinary. Let me explain.

There’re many stories in the Bible of God showing up in unique and special ways in the lives of ordinary people doing very ordinary things. One example is found in Acts 8. It’s the story of a man named Philip. Philip was a servant in the early church who loved to share his faith with others. One day, Philip was walking on the road that led from Jerusalem to Gaza. While he’s walking, God’s talking to him.

As Philip strolled along, he saw a chariot heading down the same road. The chariot happened to be transporting a very important official from Ethiopia. The Holy Spirit spoke to Philip and told him to go and walk alongside this carriage. Philip obeyed. When Philip approached the chariot, he heard this man reading from the scroll of Isaiah the prophet. Philip saw an opportunity. It was an extraordinary moment in an ordinary day.

Philip asked the official if he understood what he was reading. The man said that he needed some help, and Philip offered his assistance, jumped in the carriage with him and began telling the man about Jesus. Take a look at Philip’s response to this amazing moment:

“So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.” — Acts 8:35 (NIV)

This man accepted Christ that day, was baptized and went home a new man!

A great moment in Philip’s life, a moment that resulted in him sharing his faith in Jesus with someone else, happened because Philip looked for extraordinary, special moments in the midst of an ordinary day and an ordinary activity. What started out as an ordinary walk turned into an extraordinary opportunity for Philip to be used by God.

Yes, life’s very daily and very ordinary. But remember, God has extraordinary, special moments and opportunities for you in the midst of your ordinary life and activities. Keep your spiritual eyes open to see them and your spiritual ears tuned to hear God’s Spirit guiding you to embrace the unique, divine appointments in the mundane of your daily life!

Dale O'Shields

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