“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you; take your everyday ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God – you’ll be changed from the inside out.” Romans 12:1-2, Message Translation
There are days when all I feel like I do is get up, pour myself a cup of coffee, spend a few precious moments in God’s Word, pick up the house, run errands, return emails, make dinner, (pick up the house again!!) and finally fall into bed only to do it all over again the next day! Maybe your days are filled with driving to work, making business calls or taking care of your elderly parents. But, no matter what stage of life we are in – we can become bored with our daily routines and forget to embrace each day as a gift from God.
What stood out to me in the scripture above is the challenge Paul gives us to embrace our everyday, ordinary life as worship to God. I have found that if we choose to worship God everyday (no matter how mundane our tasks may seem) an overflowing joy will fill our hearts. God will help us see that what we do each day is not ordinary – but extraordinary! While, the world may perceive what we do as meaningless, God knows our hearts and He sees our acts of everyday life as worship to Him.
Did you know that as you go about your everyday, ordinary life, that you are changing eternal souls? You are influencing someone’s life today, whether you realize it or not. Your encouragement and heartfelt concern for a co-worker, fellow mom or a grocery store clerk can literally alter their destiny!
Maybe you are a businessperson, minister or teacher. You need to know that every client you encourage, sermon that you preach or child that you impact is shaping an eternal destiny. The truth is, there are thousands of people who need what you do mindlessly each day. It may be your smile, uplifting word or a mastery skill that you perform at your job. But someone, somewhere, is in need of what you do in your everyday, ordinary life. Choosing to worship God through your everyday life will not only change you, but everyone around you as well!
Prayer:
“Lord, I give you my everyday, ordinary life: my sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life as worship to You. I choose to fix my eyes on Jesus and what He thinks about me as I go about my daily tasks. Father, open my eyes to see how my life can be a blessing to those around me. Help me to see those who are hurting and need the gift that is within me. Someone, somewhere is in need of what I do in my everyday, ordinary life. May You use my life to glorify You. Take my ordinary and turn it into extraordinary this day.” Amen.
Tracy,
These verses is the Message version are some of my favorites because it does teach us how important our everyday lives are in the big picture. Joyce Meyer once taught these verses by saying we can love and serve our families by having a good attitude when we do the laundry or the dishes. If we have a burdensome attitude, we are missing out on the opportunity to show love to our family.
Great post!
Melony