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Seeing God In The Ordinary

Here it is — the work week after Spring Break. For many folks, Monday represents the start of another monotonous cycle of work. Maybe it’s a mountain of washing and ironing, an endless sorting of mail, the same dull routine on an assembly line, or the tedium of sitting at a computer entering data or watching a printer spit out seemingly endless sheets of paper.

Monotony can be a breeding ground for envy and discontent, or it can be the training ground for the development of Christian character and a life of Christ-like service. It all depends on whether we can see God in the ordinary duties of life.

The story is told of a woman living in Boston who performed the same cleaning tasks in the same office building for 40 years. She was interviewed by a reporter who asked her how she could possibly stand the monotony of doing the same thing day in and day out for that long period of time. The woman replied, “I don’t get bored because I use cleaning materials that God made. I clean objects that belong to people God made, and I make life more comfortable for them. My mop is the hand of God!”

Are we looking for the Creator in our occupation? Guess what — He’s there. He uses the life, hands, feet, and voices of people who accept their tasks and without question do their work for Him (Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 3:22-24). Any routine task is relevant to God’s work in and through us — for time here on earth, and for eternity in heaven (Revelation 7:15 – NKJV; Revelation 22:3 – NKJV). The writer of Ecclesiastes saw God in the ordinary — and we should too (Ecclesiastes 3:1-13).

Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet, and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee. —Mozart