The Day-To-Day

I was listening to a sermon the other day, and one phrase from it has stuck with me more than the rest of it: look at the people God has already placed around you.

Now, the sermon was directed at men, and was talking about pursuing a wife. About how you're supposed to go about finding that woman that you're going to pursue (with some really great points on why "dating" is such a bad idea. Men should be pursuing a wife, or nothing. But that's another post...) And Pastor Mark made a great point: to stop praying to God, expecting him to materialize someone out of thin air. Pay attention to the women God has already placed in your life.

Despite the fact that that original statement wasn't directed at me, I have found that this mentality is proving true to a bunch of different aspects of my life. I find that I often pray for wisdom, patience, chances to serve, chances to act, opportunities to make use of this new heart I find myself with, etc. with the expectation that they were going to materialize out of thin air. Not that I realized that, of course.

More often than not, though, that's not how God works. Because every second of every day of my life has been planned with purpose. When I pray for patience, I have opportunities for patience all around me. When I pray for wisdom, I have the chance to pursue it all the time. Satan tries to convince me that it has to be something big and new, he tries to convince me to write off the importance of my day-to-day. Because he knows exactly how powerful the gospel in our day-to-day can be, if we really paid attention.

I am so kindly reminded of one of the first things I ever learned about Christianity, about Christ: it is the daily things that make all the difference in the world. I first knew Christ because two incredibly selfless women loved my angry, rebellious, temperamental teenage self. They loved me, not just once, but day after day after day. With absolutely no thanks, no recognition from me. They loved me for more than a year before I knew what it had cost them to do so, or could even begin to love them back. It wasn't one act that made me see, it was the consistency of their every day habits and hearts.

I've been wondering what to do with this new heart of mine. Because it is a powerful thing. And I have no idea what to do with it, how to serve God with it, or even how to really love people well with it. Because a heart, a faith, without action is dead (James 2:17.) Where I once found myself content in idleness, I cannot bring myself to stand and watch the brokenness of the world go by anymore. But, I have been deceived into thinking that God would bring along something for me, some big purpose or cause to put this heart to use. Because, he wouldn't give this heart to me for no reason, with no intention of putting it to use. So, of course, I need to be still and trust God to bring me an outlet for this in his timing.

Wrong.

Well, that's true. Sort of. But it isn't an excuse to sit back and twiddle my thumbs. The idea that God might bring something along later isn't a reason to be idle right now. I am surrounded by opportunities to use this heart, if only I take a moment to see them for what they are. I am surrounded by people, specific people, for a reason.

And, well, maybe my wayward, adventure-seeking soul is restless because I've been deceived into believing that my daily interactions aren't all that important. Maybe that soul is so restless because it has been blind to the adventure that is right in front of me: intentionally loving the people God has already placed in my life. That very thing changed everything about me. How could it be anything but exciting, purposeful, and good?

Thanks to Jesus, and Pastor Mark, for the sweet reminders on the basics of life. :)