You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
This past summer series we have looked at various attributes of God. The God who is, healer, present, jealous, shepherd, and sanctifier but have you considered Him as God of the mundane, ordinary, day to day?
mun·dane /ˌmənˈdān/: very ordinary
adjective: Something that is mundane is very ordinary and not at all interesting or unusual. Be willing to do mundane tasks with good grace.
Synonyms: ordinary, routine, commonplace, day-to-day, uneventful, routine
I have thought of this a lot recently. I think what started me on this trajectory was my own personal journey with Him these past number of years through COVID when life could be little more than mundane due to the many restrictions placed on us and the many ways I had encountered Him and His immense love for me during those uncertain, non-eventful times.
Often, we seek those burning bush, walking on water, or mountain top, and sometimes deep valley experiences to encounter God…those big life altering events and experiences…. surely, He is in all of those for sure, however those events are not generally our normal everyday lives and if those are the only times we encounter Him, what about the rest of our lives…the comings and goings when we are not devasted in the valleys of death and despair, when we are not supercharged and spectacular. We live in a culture that is addicted to the adrenaline rush of outrageous and extreme and often think this is the only way we can feel alive, feel significant or like we matter…is this as good as it gets?!? Absolutely not!!
Our beloved has so much more in His heart and His desire for our relationship and life with Him. We see this from the very beginning in Genisis where God would walk with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day in the garden with them.
We see this throughout the Old Testament as God was with His people through not just the battle victories and leading them to the Promised land but in the everyday wandering through the wilderness where He fed, cared, taught, loved them even though they were a rebellious, stubborn, stiff-necked people.
We see this as Jesus came to earth as our Emmanuel, God with us, and walked among the people of the day to express His Father’s heart and longing for them and also with the gift of the Holy spirit who resides within each of us who call Jesus Lord.
Yes, there were a number of miracles and wonderous things recorded in God’s Word but as John 20:30-31 tells us, there were many things not recorded, like the years between Jesus’s time at the temple when He was 12 and when He was baptized by John at age 30…. that is 18 years of regular, normal life, over 50% of Jesus’s life. Yet it was in these “mundane” years Jesus grew in His relationship with His Heavenly Father and was prepared for His three years of “Why He came” which was to seek and save the lost (John3:17, John:10:10, Luke 19:10). Even in all of that miraculous, there is the unrecorded regular life Jesus lived out with His disciples.
Despite its negative connotations, the word mundane can also be used in a positive sense. For example, a person might describe a quiet evening at home as mundane, but also relaxing and enjoyable. In this context, the word mundane implies simplicity and a lack of excitement, but also a sense of comfort and familiarity.
These mundane moments of our regular life are where the Lord continues to grow us in His holiness. It’s in the ordinary moments we are being transformed more into the likeness of His Son. As Gloria Furman states so beautifully in the title of her book Glimpses of Grace, these are glimpses of grace. His grace.
“We don’t do very many grand and significant things in our life. Most of us will not be written up in history books. Most of us will only be remembered by family and perhaps a few friends. Most of us will be forgotten in two or three generations after our deaths. There simply are not many grand moments of life, and we surely don’t live life in those moments. No, we live life in the utterly mundane. We exist in the bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, and hallways of life. This is where the character of our life is set. This is where we live the life of faith.”
Those dramatic, life altering moments may only come a few times in our lifetime if ever. That is what makes them extra ordinary. The rest of our lives are not like a TV reality show where it is outlandish, bizarre and extravagantly outrageous but rather monotonous and boring and quite ordinary at times. We may never see a bush on fire that doesn’t burn up but we can see the passion and zeal for life in a new convert or one in whom God has given a vision for something grander than this life can offer. Who of us will see Jesus transfigured on a mountain top in all of His Glory? Yet we can see His image in another human being. We may never have our meager provisions multiplied to feed a crowd but we can share generously that which we have been given with those around us as our Beloved impresses it upon our hearts, time and talents included.
So, what are some practical ways we can encounter God in our mundane and continue to be transformed into His likeness in our everyday, regular life?
• Start your day with Him, Pray intentionally
• Write down or recount things you are thankful for, spirit of gratitude
• Recognize your grievances and ask the Spirit to help you turn them to praise
• Enjoy the grandeur of God’s creation, the songs of nature
• Love others, be thoughtful, present, respectful, see them as image bearers
• Be curious in all the encounters you experience in the seemly mundane
One practice that has really helped me is modeled after David’s prayer in Psalm 139:1-6.
To intentionally seek Him, pondering on how I can honour, glorify, and acknowledge Him in my day to day. With the help of the Holy Spirit, to prayerfully look back over recent days to notice God’s presence, the ways I have engaged or resisted Him. Where are areas I sensed hope, encouragement and growth in my life. Taking time to notice what is or has been stirring in my spirit and asking the Holy Spirit to speak to that place and space in my heart, asking for His help in discerning His direction and call in my life. In those activities/places that have produced fruit, a renewed determination to give more time and space to those areas in the future…For me, to actually be still in His presence and allow His gaze to fall upon me…it is in this place and space of my mundane life that He continues to meet and transform me.
As part of Encounter Ministry, I am passionate to assist in helping to create spaces and opportunities for others to encounter God in our normal ordinary lives looking forward with hope and anticipation that God may choose to do something Extraordinary in our midst. One upcoming event is a movie showing of “Jesus Revolution” scheduled for September 29. More details to follow soon.
Come join us and discover a reason to believe that God is not finished with today’s Generation. We live in a time of spiritual apathy and sometimes outright hostility toward the gospel. Jesus Revolution draws important parallels between the early 1970s and today, offering insight and hope for a new generation of believers—and for the next great revival.
This movie is an inspiring reminder of the times and people that shaped the lives and faith of those who lived through the revival of the 1970s. Viewers will discover a forgotten part of recent Christian history and, along with it, a reason to believe that God is not finished with today’s generation.
Fondly,
Melody
