The Extraordinary in the Ordinary
What is your pet peeve? One of my biggest annoyances is being stuck in traffic. A few years ago I was stuck in a traffic jam for so long that I felt I had been there for the whole day! However, the good news is that I have stopped complaining in traffic jams. One reason is that I heard of a traffic jam in China that went on not for an hour, or a day or a week, but for 12 days! Ironically, the cause of the huge traffic jam was the road-work along a 120 kilometre stretch of the busy highway – essentially turning it into a big parking lot. So whenever I begin to agonise in the heavy traffic I recall this bizarre incident. It helps me to calm down – a little!
But I have a far greater reason for no longer complaining about traffic jams. It all has to do with a verse I discovered in the Book of Proverbs. But Im getting ahead of myself. Let me give you a little background to my life-changing discovery.
About a year ago it dawned on me that Proverbs doesnt discuss many of the most important Biblical subjects. There is nothing about heaven, hell, church attendance, bible study, salvation, fasting or prophecy. Instead, the wise sayings are about the ordinary day-to-day-ness of life: relationships, financial accountability, laziness, friendships, emotions, communication, criticism, responsibility and so forth.
Of course God cares about our understanding of the enormous Biblical truths, but what became amazingly clear to me was that He cares deeply about the nuances that make a difference in our relationships and ordinary daily experiences. But thats not all. The New Testament tells us that the personified divine wisdom of the Old Testament is actually Jesus (I Corinthians 1:30).1 The proverbs are expressions of the wisdom of Christ. But it gets more intriguing. One of Jesus titles is Immanuel which means God with us. If He is with us and in us (John 14:20) then He is involved in every detail of our ordinary day-to-day lives. Proverbs 1:20-21 emphasises this:
Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks.
In these verses wisdom (personified as a woman), is constantly calling out to us in our real world where we live and struggle day by day. She is readily available and in the middle of all the bustle and anxiety and competition she begs us to listen. Too many people picture God as remote, indifferent, stern, peering down at us and only interested in the big doctrines like salvation, heaven, hell and judgement. But if that is true then He skips over our entire lives!
In the Lords prayer Jesus taught us to ask Him for our daily bread indicating that God is concerned about our ordinary needs our food, our job, our clothes. This is beautifully illustrated in Jesus first miracle when he changed water into wine (John 2:1-11). Although He was on the greatest mission in the history of mankind He made time to attend a wedding. Weddings in Jesus day were week-long festivals and often the whole town was invited. To run out of wine was more than embarrassing; it broke the strong unwritten laws of hospitality. Jesus quietly responded to a heartfelt need by performing an unnecessary act of kindness at an ordinary wedding for an ordinary unnamed couple.
Jesus concern, compassion and involvement was again revealed when He fed five thousand hungry people on a hilltop (John 6:1-15). Instead of sending the crowd home He miraculously multiplied five loaves and two fish so that all had enough to eat (verse 12). Both of these fascinating stories open a window and shine a light into who God really is. He is so passionate and interested and involved in the details of our little lives that He is willing to reveal His love through the ordinary – loaves, fish and weddings. Not only does God love us He really likes us!
But what about traffic jams? Is He with us in them as well? Notice how Proverbs 1:21 is rendered in the Message Bible:
In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand. At the busiest corner she (wisdom) calls out.
The next time you are stuck in traffic see the traffic jam as the arena of His life for that moment. Instead of blowing your hooter and punching your steering wheel, ask God to give you eyes to see Him in the moment. Perhaps He will speak a word into your heart in the stillness and peace of a traffic jam! Jesus is always with us and is doing His works in and through us. He is in our laughter. He is in our tears. He is sitting with you. He is in you as you work on your budget, wait in the bank queue and sit at your office desk. Be alert. Be aware. Listen. He may be calling out to you. There is more going on in your ordinary life right now than you ever dared to dream!
Prayer: Holy Spirit give me eyes to see the presence and work of Jesus Christ. Show me Jesus in others, in work and play and music, in relationships, laughter and in my ordinary life. How can I glorify you as I do ordinary things?
1 For further information about this fascinating subject please refer to Face to Face magazine: Volume 3, Number 5, 2011 p22 (King Solomons Mines What is it really about?).
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