The Marvelous Mundane
But as for me, I would seek God, And I would place my cause before God; Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number. He gives rain on the earth, And sends water on the fields. Job 5:8-10 It's a new week for us all. Some of us are starting today after spending ourselves in ministry to the task God has given us in our church families. Others are trying to take a breath after a busy weekend. Others of us just experienced a couple of days we would never want to live through again. I don't know about you, but I'm beat! I think I was home about three hours out of the entire day including morning and evening hours. Now Monday and the week are here in front of me and a lot of remnants of a busy weekend are patiently waiting for my attention. I have this brooding pile of laundry on the couch. I have the crusty dirty dishes making a stink of it in the sink. I have about a million and one reminders that my children have toys and books all making themselves known underfoot. That's just what I see directly in my view! If I were honest, most of my time feels very mundane and pointless. I do the same tasks over and over and over. Things that quickly start to erode my sense of God being present in it. If you are feeling that or it's overtaken you and now you've moved from fighting it into the dark sharp world of cynicsm...listen to this verse. Read it and reread it and listen to God's view of your life. In every crack and crevice he is there pursuing purpose and bringing the smallest little task under himself to work for your good. God is in and over your story. He cares for you so specifically that not one thing is mundane to him. Your care for your little one, your bazillionth scrub of the same pot you've been cleaning for years, your rising and shining and making it to your job, your difficult moment, your annoying moment, your frustrating moment, your interuptions, your rest....it all has been given to you. Let's "place our cause" before our God who is doing the unsearchable, unseen things things that he says are great and marvelous! Let's go to him and ask, "create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me." A right spirit that sees God is the one behind our causes, our day and whatever we find in it. Fight the sharpness of cyniscm that begins to eat away at the joy of your salvation. Don't go that way! It is a place where your soul cannot find rest because your rest is in God alone. Your day is under the direction of a God who is near and able and caring for you. Place your cause before him and wait on him. Ask him for what you need. He is a Father who lavishes and provides for his children. He sees you and he is looking at your mundane and mine with eyes we need to pray to have. The pastor at COTB Streeterville shared this illustration from the Desiring God website on rain and water for the fields. It struck me down to tears at how little I see God in the monotony of my life. It encouraged me greatly to fight for the right eyes and pray for help to see my life as God sees it. I hope it encourages you! Your life is filled with seemingly small purposeless things that God is using for his glory. Let's redeem all of our seasons that he gives and look for God in them. http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-great-work-of-god-rain
