Editor's note: Enjoy today's devotion written for Devotionals Daily by Ruth Chou Simons, author or This Moment Matters.
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I don’t know about you, but I find it really easy to love Jesus, remember my life is all about Him, and approach my day in a posture of worship on Sundays. You know, when you’re singing, “Lord, you are worthy!” surrounded by a body of believers?
But when Monday morning hits, the kids need things, your inbox is full, a bunch of appointments are on the agenda, and it feels like the house is a mess… it can be a bit more challenging to remember what’s true. Nothing threatens to steal our focus and joy in the Lord more than ordinary life—all the mundane tasks and routines that make up our days.
If we’re not intentional, the day-after-day cleaning up of the kitchen, making our beds, getting dressed in the morning, and deciding what to make for dinner can lull us into believing that most days don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
But I’m here to remind you: just because it’s ordinary doesn’t mean it’s meaningless.
In fact, I truly believe that this moment—the one you’re in right now—matters more than you know. Why? Because God doesn’t just meet us in the extraordinary moments of life—the day you're baptized, the day that you graduate, or the day you get married. He meets us today. Right now. In this moment. We just have to slow down long enough to find and experience His grace in the basic, ordinary things of our everyday lives.
Almost twenty years ago, I was in the throes of motherhood with a bunch of littles running around (eventually, there would be six boys) wondering how to grow in my walk with Christ. It didn’t feel like I was doing anything spectacular with my life—at least not the professional work that I thought I was going to do. I wasn’t carrying out missional gospel work around the globe. I wasn’t digging wells or building houses. I was mothering and picking up Cheerios, dusting and cleaning, and discipling young women after the kids went to bed. The ordinary life I was living felt spectacularly unspectacular.
I knew the work I was doing was important, special, and sacred, but I needed a way to see God's grace intersecting my daily life. So I started writing a blog I called GraceLaced, and I gave it the tagline: “Finding grace in the everyday,” to help me recognize and document the places His grace showed up and laced through my daily life.
Over time, I began to understand what the psalmist meant when he said,
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. — Psalm 118:24
And what the apostle Paul was getting at when he says, in 1 Corinthians 10:31:
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
I think applying these verses to our lives is ultimately an identity issue. Because if we believe that we were created to be doers, or task-completers, then cultivating a grace-laced life is really inefficient.
What does caring for my plants do for my career advancement? Not a whole lot. Why would maximizing the decor that’s already in my home possibly matter for my relationships? On the surface, it doesn’t. At first glance, none of our everyday tasks have a clear, obvious connection to growing in Christ.
But Paul doesn't write, “For by grace you were saved to do things.” Or, “For by grace you were saved to be a workaholic or a robot that gets a whole lot of stuff done.” No! Paul writes,
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. — Ephesians 2:8-10
God is showing all of His mercy and grace and redemptive power in and through you and through me!
And when we embrace our identity as more than “doers” by remembering and believing we were created with purpose and for relationship, everything changes. Only then does intentionally cultivating a grace-laced life through ordinary life help us grow in Christ.
When we remember we are chosen, loved, invited into relationship, forgiven, and made free, then waking up in the morning naturally leads us to
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Friend, you can be glad and rejoice in today—and in every ordinary, unspectacular day—because God wants a relationship with you!
He loves you.
He's made you to experience the good life in Christ.
He’s wired you for delight.
You have a reason to do more than just survive this moment.
You have a reason to press in and engage with what God's given you to do, whatever it may be.
You have reason to rejoice!
So let’s cultivate eyes to see His grace in the ordinary moments that build our lives. Because the rhythms, routines, and tasks of our everyday lives set the stage for us to see God’s grace woven into every nook and cranny. And when we do that, we shift from surviving the mundane to stewarding it all for the glory of God.
Take note of His grace today… while you’re getting dressed, folding laundry, meeting with the Lord, making salsa, arranging flowers, making your bed, going for a walk, and making dinner for our people. You can be confident that this moment—the one you’re in right now—really does matter.
Written for Devotionals Daily by Ruth Chou Simons, author or This Moment Matters.
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Your Turn
Whatever is on your To Do List today, take note of the Lord’s grace. Whether or not you’re digging fresh water wells, serving the poor in the inner city, or making lunches for your kids, this moment matters and God has grace for today, so notice it! ~ Devotionals Daily