Honoring God in the Ordinary

Few truer things have been said then that much of life is routine.

Every morning we wake up. We go to work, or maybe we stay home with young children, or maybe something else all together. But whatever it is that you do every day, at work or at home, there are so many mundane tasks that must be done repeatedly; tasks that are not particularly recognized when they’re done, but will eventually catch up to you if left undone.

I’ve found that in the midst of the routine, in the midst of the mundane, that I can become stagnant if I’m not careful.

If I don’t choose to replenish my supply of God’s gifts on a daily basis, I’ve noticed that my drive starts to putter away, like a car whose battery is wearing out. I’m reminded of how when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they had to gather God’s miraculous provision of manna daily (Exodus 16:4). I’ve read that the word enthusiasm derives from two Greek words, en theos, meaning “inspired by God”. My life needs to be inspired and filled, each new day with God’s goodness for that day.

I decided a few years ago that I did not have to have something extraordinary happening in my life to be excited. That I did not have to have a perfect job, marriage, home, or children to choose to live with enthusiasm. I can, as directed in Romans 12:11, choose to “Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.” A few years ago I decided that no matter where I was in life, that I wanted to make the most of it and be the best I could be; to honor God in the ordinary, in my every day life.

You need to know that I’m not what people would consider a charismatic personality, nor am I super self disciplined. So staying enthused and seeking to honor God in my every day life do not come naturally to me. But there are some things that I have found helpful for me in this process; staying in the Word, keeping good role models in my eyesight, choosing to constantly and consistently speak words of thankfulness, music, and choosing excellence even in the small things.

What about you, what have you found helps you stay inspired by God in daily life?