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Finding God in the Ordinary

WIM: Please share your thoughts on “Finding God in the Ordinary.”

Jayne: Probably right now one of the most ordinary places I see God at work is in my finances. God always listens to what my needs are, even though I’m still struggling. And there’s never been a time when my needs haven’t been met!

This may sound silly to some, but as a young single adult, there are a lot of times when I don’t have food, but someone will invite me to lunch, for example. My first thought might be, “I don’t have money to go to lunch!” But I go anyway because I know the Lord is asking me to spend time with the other person. Often they pay for my lunch! In this simple way, God takes care of my needs.

Another way I see God in the ordinary is in my friendships. Sometimes it’s as simple as God giving me patience or giving me the right words to say to a friend. This is an every day type of thing where God provides for me. In certain situations, I am aware that only God could make things happen the way they did in my relationships.

WIM: Lisa, tell us a little about how you see God at work through the ordinary day-in, day-out efforts at the church.

Jayne: To be honest, my faith is absolutely restored by the testimonies of the things I see at the church plant. I don’t know if you would consider those ordinary things, but they have become the basis of my faith for what God is doing there.

Taking on new ministries is always such a stretch for us. We are so small! And it seems like it is always the same people exerting effort to get off the ground. But the Lord keeps providing people and helping them to find their place in the church. In that way, God encourages my faith. If we are obedient to the place God is taking our church, He will provide the people.

For example, as God was expanding ministry at our church, we knew that if we wanted young families to come and stay, then we would need a nursery or childcare. At that time, there was no one with whom we felt comfortable in asking to take that role. As a minister, I had already had all of the background checks done, so I was the most likely candidate for the job!

That was a struggle for me because kids weren’t my thing, but I knew it was important for the success of the church. Even while I served, I kept praying for the Lord to provide. Pretty soon, the church began to bring in more tithes and offerings, so we were able to hire our first paid staff person—a part-time children’s worker!

At that time I said, “Lord, this is not me.” He listened to me and my frustrations. But He also used me for that time and place. In ordinary obedience to my pastor and to the Lord, I saw God provide.

Another way I see God at work in the small things is in who is coming to our church. In the beginning, we had a lot of people commute to our church, but our immediate goal was to reach the local community. After about a year, we saw the commuters slowly leave—not in a bad way, but each time they left, a local person seemed to come and take their place. Now the core of the church is from the local community. In times when we were discouraged because people were leaving, God kept blessing us with the right people from Rogersville.

WIM: You’re a young woman in ministry. Tell us a little bit about how God is working that call out in your life? In what ordinary ways has He led you down this road?

Jayne: For me personally, I’ve never had to force my way into ministry. It keeps coming to me. Especially through my job, I find God using me in ways I would never have thought of.

My job is a very ordinary thing. It includes administrative work, some computer design and graphics, lots of phone calls, and some training of volunteers. Because my office work is ordinary, it is easy to think that ministry is something that happens outside of work, or at a Convoy outreach.

But in the office, God brings people to me that need to be encouraged. Sometimes I see someone that needs prayer, or I’m given an opportunity to encourage someone in spiritual things. Sometimes people think that when you work in a Christian environment, you don’t need to reach out or minister to your coworkers in the same way you might if working for a secular company. But I feel we can always minister to our coworkers. We should still speak life into each other

WIM: What do you do to help keep focused on the Lord day to day?

Jayne: For me, it is usually when I’m exercising. I love the gym, but I like being outside better. Something as simple as seeing the sun rise or the sun set, or at times when I’m actually by myself and unwinding, I am reminded that there is a God who loves me and cares about the details in my life.

When I see a flower, I think,Wow! Look at all the detail God put into this! Surely He knows the details of my life! Of course I have to take the time to stop and recognize these things, or I would completely miss them. But whenever I’m alone, I reflect on what God has done for me or what He is doing, and I end up thanking Him for His greatness!

I know not everyone has the time to be alone—especially mothers who have a child hanging on them all day long. I know it is different for everyone, but that is what seems to work for me.

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