Honoring God in the Ordinary

This week over atKingdom Bloggers we're talking about honoring God in the ordinary.

That's not always easy to do. I know that sometimes I can get bogged down in being busy. 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.

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.

I’ve written a lot lately about the Word and about spending time in the Word, so I won’t write a about that again. Except to say that as I spend time daily in the Word, the Holy Spirit causes the words from the Bible to become life to my spirit.

Perhaps I’ve never understood the influence of others so much as during these past couple of years as I’ve watched my teen son be influenced by the people with whom he hangs out. It’s been heart wrenching to see him turn away here and there from God to pursue worldly pleasure like his contemporaries are pursuing. But I’m not fundamentally different from him; who I surround myself with affects who I become. Of course this doesn’t mean that I don’t develop relationships on varying levels with people who don’t know God, but it does mean that I purposefully pursue godly role models as well.

One of my favorite role models is a French monk named Brother Lawrence. Brother Lawrence wrote a group of letters that were later compiled into a book entitled “The practice of the presence of God”. He worked at manual labor until his death in 1691, and he wrote about how to live in God’s presence, and do everything in which you are involved, to the honor of God. Here’s an excerpt from his tenth letter:

“Let us think of Him perpetually. Let us put all our trust in Him. I doubt not but that we shall soon find the effects of it in receiving the abundance of His grace, with which we can do all things, and without which we can do nothing but sin.”

Purposefully choosing to put thoughts like these before me, puts me in a place where I’m able to receive God’s outlook on life, to experience His passion, even in the ordinary business of daily living.

If you’ve ever spent any time around a person involved in a 12-step group you’ll soon hear a popular phrase they use: “Attitude of Gratitude”. That’s what I want to have. I’ve found that a simple way to help myself have that attitude on any given day is to look for the good in every situation, to look for how God is giving good gifts to me, and then choose to speak words of thankfulness to my God. Sometimes I speak these words of gratitude aloud and other times, due to life situations, I silently contemplate them in my mind. I’ve seen over the past few years as I’ve chosen to practice this, that there are so many ways that God is blessing me. I’ve seen that there are many blessings that I’ve failed to see in the past because I was choosing to look at the things that I wanted but did not have, and failed to recognize all the good that I already had. It’s hard to not experience the presence of God and passion of the Holy Spirit when I’m thanking and praising Him.

Music is the language of heart and it lifts me to places that I can not take myself. I’ve noticed that David at Kingdom Bloggers frequently mentions this same thing, that listening to music that is uplifting for me during my commute to work, or during tasks at home, helps me remain conscious of God. Helps me stay in constant communication with Him.

Repeatedly I’ve noticed that as I perform those tasks before me to the best of my ability, that as I choose excellence, the fires of the passion in my soul are stoked. In the interest of honesty here, I need to make note that I’ve learned this truth as much from when I’ve done a half-baked job, as from when I’ve done my very best. Something about giving my best, doing my best, stirs up joy inside me. This truth is totally independent from the notice of others; there are so many things in life that we can do extremely well and no one will ever know, but we know and God knows.

So I’ve shared that staying in the Word, keeping godly role models in my eye sight, gratitude, music, and pursuing excellence, are what I’ve found assist me in staying inspired by God, and stir up His passion within me, even in the ordinary business of day to day living.

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