"Not fears I need deliverance from today-
but nothingness;
inertia,
skies gray and windless;
no sun,
no rain,
no stab of joy or pain.
no strong regret,
no reaching after,
no tears,
no laughter
no black despair
no bliss.
deliver me today... from this."
Ruth Bell Graham
"Sitting By My Laughing Fire"
The ordinary days... these are the days that make up most of our lives. There are some wonderful highs and lows, and surprises and joys, along with many trials and griefs...
But the 'ordinary days' are where I live, and spend most of my time...
I don't always like that! The highs in life are where I love to be... the valleys, not so much. But the reality is... it's a lot more about the valleys and plains than just the highs... and the truth is that I learn to know Jesus more deeply in the valleys.
The question... Is God sufficient for all of it, the high, the low and the dull and ordinary days?...
The answer... A resounding YES!!!...
"But my God shall supply ALL of your needs according to His riches in glory, by Christ Jesus"...
I know in my heart that HE understands those ordinary days, when we keep putting one foot in front of the other and persist... there are so many who are going through very deep valleys and trials, that this may almost seem irrelevant, or even trivial, but... I find that I am living in these days much of my life...
Often when I feel 'ordinary' and not much is on the horizon, satan LOVES to use that to pull me down! I am learning... to STAND IN FAITH on those days, to KNOW that GOD means for all of our days to be lived in the knowledge that He is in control, and that our REAL joy comes from knowing that we are His...
...and the JOY in my ordinary days IS the knowledge that GOD is real and that HE LOVES ME, and that HE is at work in my 'ordinary', to make me shine for Him!
Now THAT is worthy of a blog!!
16 comments:
Thank you for just the word I needed today. You seem to do that a lot for me! lol
what an extra-ordinary message! i'm such a bore
that i enjoy the ordinary and never appreciate
the thrill of the mountain tops as much as i should.
i do love LOOKING at the mountaintops, though.
Every day is special in God's eyes, I believe. We may think it's ordinary but who knows if that sales clerk you spoke to so kindly didn't thank God for you? And the ordinary day you sent an encouraging message to me? How special that day was for me.
I just want to say that you are special Sonja. How thankful I am to be the 3rd Norske sis.
Love you,
Debbie
Yes and Amen...I thought that today after getting our child off for camp, husband out the door and four year old and I just had a "day"... toilets were cleaned, toys picked up...laughs shared and God was with us in the relax of just a "day", but hey what a "day" we are breathing, talking, walking, eating, loving and passing wonderful encouragement to others as you did in your day through your blog!
Thanks for the reminder and truth!
This is what my post "a toast to daily grace" is all about; keep living God's extraordinary in the ordinary. This kind of living makes for a fascinating "read" every time.
peace~eliane
Thank you Sonja for this. I am physically exhausted today and needed to read this. Blessings.
Oh my! Quoting from one of my heros in the faith, Ruth Bell Grahmam! I've become a little too aquainted with "inertia" these past few weeks. This post reminds me to trust the Lord on good days, bad days and ordinary days! Praise ye the Lord!
God gave me another special, wrapped with love, gift today, by directing me to this blog post. It is one of the best written posts ever! Just reached in and touched my heart right where I am today...smack dab in the middle of the "ordinariness of life". It is days like this when heaven looks better than ever. Thank you for the blessing of "you" and the way God used you and Ruth Bell Graham. I look forward to meeting her someday and thanking her for the way her books and writings were used to inspire and encourage me. Today, I thank you.
Wonderful post - and went right along...perfectly...with my quiet time devotions from yesterday. I just love it when the Lord does that! God is at work on the ordinary days...and how often do I miss it - just waiting for the extraordinary!
This is wonderful and encouraging. There are ordinary days, and God He makes even those special. I learn the most about Him in the valleys, to be honest.
ha ha! oh, hee hee! yes, i was going to ask you
to please send the perfume back. :)
Ruth Bell Graham's poem expressed how some of my days of late have seen to me. I appreciate her honesty and your choice of words in commenting further. I rejoice in the way God uses this medium to speak encourage and prod us, His daughters. God bless you richly today, Dear Sister.
If I get too many mountain top experiences, then I'm off the map and constantly looking for the next roller coaster. God does something spectacular, and I'm saying "More, God, more!"
The valley times...It is during these trials that I cling to God the most. So these are good!
The in-betweens...yeah, therein is the struggle. "Come on God, do something!" But I guess He's always doing something, no matter where we are on the rollercoaster. And yet we feel that we're stuck...not moving. Yeah, I can relate...
Yes! I want to know God in every ordinary moment of my life! It's so easy to have joy in mountain-top experiences, and it's so natural to run to Him to find a well in the desert. But, to have constancy that dwells with God in the most typical hours is living with peace and knowing the depth of His fellowship.
Thank you, Sonja! What a beautiful post!
Much love
Andrea
Just what I needed to read tonight...I love the ordinary moments...
What a beautiful post! It has lifted me from the ordinariness of today into the joy of God's love!
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