The Joy of the Ordinary
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8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
When we read through a passage like this, what stands out to us the most is the spectacular, extra ordinary events that surrounded the birth of Christ.
When we think about the advent of Christ each year, what comes to our mind most?
The virgin birth?
The appearance of angels?
That strange star in the sky?
Certainly those are all key elements of the Christmas story, but just as important as these are the much more common, ordinary events that took place to bring about the birth of the Savior of the world.
If there is one thing that we take for-granted in this modern, fast paced world, it is the ordinary.
When people ask us how it’s going we say things like,
“Oh, just another day”
“It’s business as usual”
“Same old, same old”
“Par for the course”
These are expressions of the reality that we tend to find little joy in the ordinary, normal events of life.
We’re all looking for that next big thing, something to shake up the normalcy of life.
The funny thing is, sometimes when that actually happens, we don’t like it very much.
We take the normal for-granted, until it’s gone, and then all we want is for things to go back to normal!
Isn’t that ironic!
We saw it in 2020 when Covid hit, we saw it again just a few months ago when our lives were disrupted by the flood.
In times like that we would give anything for things to just go back to normal.
But what if there was a way that we could find joy in the ordinary?
What if we didn’t despise those things that are so common and routine but rather saw them as the precious means of God’s grace toward us that they really are.
What if there was a way to have extraordinary joy in the ordinary things of life?
One of the ways I think we can do that is by seeing that God most often does His work through normal, ordinary means.
We see this in the birth of Christ.
God could have chosen to bring about the arrival of His Son for the redemption of the world in any number of supernatural ways.
But He chose for Him to be born. And in a stable of all places.
The first to hear of the arrival of Jesus were the shepherds. Which was probably the most common and ordinary of all the occupations in Israel.
Moses was a shepherd, Joseph was a shepherd, David was a shepherd, God has a history of using that which is most ordinary to do the most extraordinary things!
Don’t despise humble and ordinary beginnings, for that is the breeding ground that God most often uses for His special work.
That is His ordinary work.
One of the signs of spiritual maturity is to find joy in those simple and ordinary things of daily life.
We can do that because we know that God is at much at work through those things as He is anything else in this world.
Anyone can have joy when God does something supernatural in their life, but the true Christian has joy in the simplest of things because he knows that even of this, he is so undeserving.
That God’s common grace is so extraordinary to him that he wonders that he gets to enjoy anything at all!
That is the kind of joy that is spoken of in Galatians 5, and it is a joy that is all too foreign to the Christian life today.
Busyness is the great killer of this kind of joy because it does not leave room for us to stop and enjoy these simple things that God has done.
This is a warning that is especially relevant for us during this season.
I do not know anyone who is not busy right now.
How often have you said, “I just don’t have enough time to do all that I need to do in a day?”
If we find that we are too busy to do that which God has called us to do, there can only be two reasons for this:
Either we are misusing the time that God has given us each day.
Or we have filled our time with things that are not part of God’s plan for us.
This can be the only two possibilities for “not having enough time”.
For God has given us the perfect amount of time to accomplish what He has called us to do each day.
He has not given us a second more to waste, nor a second less that we should be in need of more.
The problem does not lie with the amount of time that I have but with my use of that time that God has alloted to me.
So with that excuse out of the way, what are the ways that God has ordained for us to experience this ordinary joy?
We have to invite God into our normal if we want it to be filled with joy.
If we go about our day without ever thinking of God and what He wants or expects from us, do not wonder that you are so frustrated and joyless!
How do you begin your day?
What do you do with your free time?
Have you intertwined God into all that you do or placed Him in His little Sunday morning compartment?
See, how you spend your day says more about what you believe about God than what most of us would like to admit.
How can we intentionally bring God into our day?
1. Start your day in the Word but don’t leave it there.
11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
16 Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.
2. Make prayer a normal part of your day.
How many people do you pray with and pray for throughout the day?
coworkers, friends, family members?
Do you invite God into those places and relationships through prayer?
24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
If we want to multiply our joy, we have to multiply our prayers.
One day we will experience the joy of seeing every prayer that we have ever prayed be answered.
The one who has prayed most will have the most joy on that day.
Through God’s Word and prayer we invite Him into our normal, and where the Lord is there is always joy.
11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Response: What is it in your life that has become so ordinary that you take it forgranted?
Maybe it’s a relationship with a spouse or child?
Your job?
Maybe it’s Sunday mornings?
Have you become so busy that you don’t make time for those things that matter most?
