Living Large in the Routine

“When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.”—Luke 2:39-40

We may not know much about Jesus’ first 12 silent years after Mary and Joseph brought him home, but there is this takeaway: We don’t need non-stop church activity or a big event for God to “do something” in and through our lives. God didn’t suddenly drop out of the picture during Jesus’ seemingly ho-hum formative years while he was in the workshop with his dad or hanging out in the yard with his brothers, and He is just as powerfully active and at work beneath the surface of our own little 24/7 ho-hum.

Sometimes, we feel pressured to do something to “help God out” and speed things along—anything but wait. Except waiting on God has little to do with being passive and everything about cultivating a relationship of holy friendship, of every-situation conversation, of trust, of believing even in the face of everything that wants logic and clear-cut answers...and especially of being faithful in the routine rhythms of life.

And through it all, just maybe, the “do something” He is ultimately after is simply a heart that chooses to beat, “Here I am, I have come to do Your will, O God.”
 

"We have the idea that God is going to do some exceptional thing,that He is preparing and equipping us for some extraordinary work in the future. But as we grow in His grace, we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, at this very moment. If we have God’s assurance behind us, the most amazing strength becomes ours, and we learn to sing, glorifying Him even in the ordinary days and ways of life." (Oswald Chambers)

[ADAPTED FROM ORIGINAL, 12-29-13]