People of Faith - Ordinary, Average, Normal People

The people of faith who are written about in the Bible truly did some wonderful and amazing things. They did all of those things by faith - trusting in God. One thing stands out, as Kap and I discuss these people of faith this week. None of them were super people ("super saints") in and of themselves. Some of them may have done extraordinary things, but all of them were ordinary, average, normal people who simply believed God - took Him at His word - and simply acted and responded according to their trust in Him.

If we look into the lives of people such as Abraham, Noah, Moses and the others who are mentioned in the "Faith Hall of Fame" (Hebrews 11), we find that all of them were nothing special when compared with other human beings. They had their own issues in life. They sinned. They had times of doubt. They didn't have their acts together all the time! But God used them, and they were credited with having great faith - all because they simply trusted God.

And not only that, but as we begin to wrap up our current look into the book of Hebrews, we find that their great faith and the things that they did weren't even really the main point that the writer was making. He says a lot of things to say: "Let us look unto JESUS, the author and finisher (perfecter) of our faith."

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God in the ordinary

I saw this this morning on the Idle musings of a bookseller blog. From today's My Utmost for His Highest devotional:

When the Spirit of God comes to us, He does not give us glorious visions, but He tells us to do the most ordinary things imaginable. Depression tends to turn us away from the everyday things of God’s creation. But whenever God steps in, His inspiration is to do the most natural, simple things-things we would never have imagined God was in, but as we do them we find Him there. The inspiration that comes to us in this way is an initiative against depression. But we must take the first step and do it in the inspiration of God. If, however, we do something simply to overcome our depression, we will only deepen it. But when the Spirit of God leads us instinctively to do something, the moment we do it the depression is gone. As soon as we arise and obey, we enter a higher plane of life.

I'll first say that I don't agree with every single specific jot and tittle in Oswald Chambers' devotional above. For example, the line that says, "He does not give us glorious visions." I do believe in visions. I believe in miracles. I believe in angels. I believe in all kinds of extraordinary manifestations of God in our lives!

However, the overall heart of the devotional lines up with my everyday experience of God - of the Holy Spirit - of Christ in me - which is most often experienced "in the ordinary." I was once so focused on wanting God to manifest Himself in extraordinary ways that I completely, or nearly completely, missed His presence in the entirety of my life!

I look around and I see so many Christians who on the outside appear as if everything is fine and dandy, but when you share a little bit of life with them and get into conversations with them, you find that they feel that something is greatly missing or lacking in their Christian lives, and they will only feel filled or complete if something "major" happens, such as a miraculous event or a highly visible or emotional experience or manifestation. In other words, it seems as if many are discontent or are longing for something more. But yet isn't the wholeness of God with us and manifested in us, even especially in the "ordinary."

Again, I love the deeply emotional, genuinely supernatural experiences I've had with God! But here's food for thought. If you want to truly interact with Jesus, consider verses such as the following (as one of many things to consider):

"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' Matt 25:37-40

Please understand, this is not some legalistic talk to try to get people to "do stuff for Jesus" and it's not a "step" to take to get out of any boredom or lack of fulfillment you may have in your Christian life!

What I'm saying is... the Kingdom of God is within us. We don't have to go looking for it. Perhaps, if we think we're missing out on something, instead of seeking for blatantly obvious supernatural experiences, we can ask our Father to show us Himself in the everyday things of life. All of creation is His. All of our life is His! A lot of this world is tainted with the effects of sin - but Jesus has overcome the world, and His overcoming of the world is not always experienced through miraculous events, but rather His overcoming of the world is shown in and through us as we abide and trust in Him and simply go about our daily lives, and as His love pours out of our lives toward others.