Experiencing God in the Ordinary

When is the last time you took a few moments and enjoyed the simple pleasure of a sunrise or sunset? How long has it been since you slowed down long enough just to thank God for the miracle of life and the gift of breath that is in your lungs?

I ask those questions, because recently I asked myself the same thing. It made me realize just how much I was taking for granted. I realized that I had slowly allowed myself to believe that God’s presence was only to be found in the extraordinary, the spectacular and the “super-spiritual”. I found myself scheduling God to only show up during the pinnacle of my Bible study and prayer time.

God will most definitely show up during those times, but thankfully that is NOT the ONLY times He will show up in our lives. God wants to reveal himself not only during our moments of spiritual devotion, but also in our daily routine.

You can welcome His voice and His presence into every aspect of your life. Your daily commute, your job, and your family time… it can all be done in connection with Him. It’s easy to become overly spiritual and isolate God to the moments that seem spiritual, but God wants all of your life, not just the ‘spiritual’ stuff.

God desires relationship with us! He wants to hear our voice calling out to Him, audibly, under our breath, and in our thoughts. He wants our ears and heart sensitive and inclined to His voice. When we walk in relationship with Him we will know and recognize Him in any environment or circumstance, not just the “spiritual”.

Some of the most mind-blowing “God moments” of my life have occurred when God interrupted something ordinary in my life. Recognizing God in the ordinary creates the extraordinary moments we all desire to experience.

Some of the most important events in scripture occurred during some of the most ordinary times.

For example…

-The anointing of David took place while he was carrying out his duty of shepherding sheep. (1 Samuel 16:11)

-Jesus called many of His disciples on an average, ordinary day while they were on-duty at their job. (Matthew 4:18-22, Matthew 9:9)

-God spoke powerfully to Moses through a burning bush while he was out tending to his father-in-law’s flock. (Exodus 3:1-6)

If we let our environment set the pace for our relationship with God I’m afraid we will miss out on so much. Believe it or not, God is just as present in the Wal-Mart checkout line as He is in the front row of your church on Sunday.

Let’s not waste some of the most important moments of our life by overlooking them as simple or ordinary. In a world that presents ‘the next big thing’ every week, it’s easy to lose our child-like wonder. Before long, we all feel like we have seen it all and heard it all.

Don’t buy into that lie. Keep your wonder. Keep your amazement.

Give your wonder, amazement, and awe to the One who truly deserves it and do it regularly. From the moment you wake up to the moment that you lay back down at night you have a multitude of opportunities to experience His presence.

Thank Him for your spouse. Thank Him for your children. Thank Him for your health. Thank Him for your job. Thank Him for you home. Thank Him for your church. Gratitude always leads us back to His feet in worship.

Every sunrise, every goodbye hug & kiss, every morning commute, every chuckle and smile from your child, every sunset and every night you’re blessed to make it back to your bed is reason enough to worship and another opportunity to experience God in the ordinary.