Discovering God in the Ordinary

Ordinary is not a celebrated way of being in our society. There’s nothing about mundane that rings beautiful to our soul’s ears—not in a culture where success is measured by metrics like “up and to the right,” where bigger, faster, shinier is the unspoken mantra of our lives.

We inhabit a world caught up with celebrity and personal glory. America rewards exceptionalism. Our nation is built on it. We are bombarded with social media’s constant highlight reels and driven to achieve greatness in our careers, relationships, and even our faith. It’s no wonder we feel like the mundane aspects of life are something to overcome, rather than embrace. We live in a look-at-me circus.

Who celebrates folding laundry, making dinner, or showing up for the same job every day? These moments of repetition and routine feel uninspired at best, unimportant at worst.

I wonder if we’ve got it wrong? What if it’s in the ordinary where the sacred is found?

In the mundane, we encounter an extraordinary God.

The Holiness of the Mundane

Throughout Scripture, we see God consistently reveal Himself in the ordinary: a burning bush in the middle of a wilderness; a young shepherd boy chosen to be king and the Savior of the world, a carpenter’s son, born in a manger. Time and time again, God bypasses the spectacular and moves through the everyday.

Where our world sees ordinary and says, “insignificant,” God sees “Perfect for my purposes.” Like always, the Lord flips the script.

The prophet Elijah experienced this in a profound way. After a dramatic confrontation with the prophets of Baal, he fled into the wilderness, seeking God in the chaos and drama of fire or earthquake. But instead, God’s voice came to him in a gentle whisper—a quiet, almost unnoticeable moment.

1 Kings 19:11-12 NIV

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.

Seeing Beauty in the Small Things

The beauty of the ordinary is that it forces us to slow down and take notice. To embrace the ordinary, we must pause and take a breath. Seeing the beauty of God in the small things calls us to gratitude for what is, not just anticipation for what could be. It is to live in the moment, free of worry and regret.

Pause and reflect on the satisfaction of a home-cooked meal, the comfort of a morning cup of coffee, or the way the morning sunlight spills across your dining room table. These small, quiet moments are far from insignificant. They are God giving us glimpses of His grace.

The Lord’s fingerprints are all over the ordinary. The way the seasons change, the rhythm of our days, and even the challenges of everyday life can draw us closer to Him if we’re willing to take the time to look.

Proverbs 27:23-24 NIV

Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.

Practicing Presence

Discovering God in the ordinary demands we are present. Sadly, we get so busy chasing after extraordinary moments that we miss the ones right in front of us.

We scroll through social media while sitting at the dinner table, missing the sacred act of breaking bread with loved ones. We rush through our morning routines, never pausing to thank God for another day. We see the tasks in our to-do list as obstacles instead of opportunities to experience His grace.

We aren’t fully present where we are. We are distracted. We miss God working all around us.

When we slow down, take a breath, —inhale, exhale—and become fully present in the now, we start to see the holy in the mundane. Free from the distractions of exceptionalism, we suddenly see God all around us.

Terri and I have recently gotten a taste of this by intentionally carving out the time to have breakfast with her parents every Sunday morning. It’s part of our new normal since Terri’s sister died. We go over to their house—they live next door—and make coffee, cook breakfast, and share a meal.

We slow down and take the time to do something that has become far too rare in our society—be present with one another.

To be fair, Terri does most of the cooking and I do most of the eating. Each of us have our own spiritual gifts.

Embracing Ordinary Faith

Faith can often feel ordinary. The daily rhythm of prayer, Bible reading, and service seem unremarkable compared to mountaintop spiritual experiences. But these simple, steadfast practices ground us in a relationship with our extraordinary God. It’s the routine rhythms that root our spiritual lives amidst a sway of highs and lows.

Embracing the ordinary cultivates a faith free from emotional highs or extraordinary circumstances. Rather, it’s a faith that sees God in the ordinary and trusts Him in our everyday.

Here’s My Invitation

So, here’s my invitation: EMBRACE THE ORDINARY. Let go of the pressure to make every moment exceptional and extraordinary. Take a breath. Inhale. Exhale. Slow down, look around, and ask God to show Himself to you in the seemingly insignificant details of your life. I think you’ll discover a renewed appreciation for the extraordinary God we serve.

Matthew 5:5 NIV

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

In the end, the ordinary isn’t ordinary at all. It’s where life happens. It’s in the simple routines of daily living where we meet God. It’s in the ordinary where the extraordinary transformation quietly unfolds.