Stuck in the Hum-drum Depths of... my Life?

A treatise on greatness – not “coolness”

Who do you admire?  Why?  What is so special about them that it makes you want to copy their example?  Sometimes they inspire you to great things and great virtues.  But do you often feel stuck, trapped by good intentions and unable to accomplish anything worthwhile?

Inspiration

Some people inspire us by delivering moving speeches.  Others lead adventurous lives or stand firm through periods of great trial and suffering.  They inspire us to be strong and faithful.  Still others, and  perhaps these the most of all, inspire us by doing great things, hard things, important and far-reaching meaningful things; like founding an organization to fight modern-day slavery, digging wells in Africa, or collecting shoes for the poor.  These heroes, often young themselves, call to us by their actions to follow their example.

The call

God calls all His children to a life of greatness.  You say, really?  Absolutely.  All Christians are instructed to emulate Christ.  The Holy Spirit will help us as we follow Him.  Is there any greater calling than being like Him and doing His works?  He is the Creator of the Universe and our Savior; there couldn’t possibly be a greater life calling. 

Ephesians 4:13-  ‘Til we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.  (Emphasis mine)

Do Hard Things

But let’s get back to doing great hard things.  I could never do such big, important things right?  I mean, that’s reserved for great people like Zach Hunter or Alex and Brett Harris or well-known pastors and Bible teachers, but certainly not me.  This kind of thinking is dead wrong.  Ask any heroes of the faith: Ruth, King David, Gladys Alyward, Jeremiah, David Livingstone, Moses, Mary Slessor, Joseph, Daniel, Adoniram Judson…  The list is inexhaustible!  I know they would say they were just normal people who God used exactly how He wanted.  They were willing and ready to serve Him. 

I Chronicles 28:9b-   …know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind…  (Emphasis mine)

Stuck in the hum-drum depths of… my life?

Nobody should be satisfied with a half-hearted attempt or the second, third, or tenth best that they can give for God.  I struggle a lot with my attitude; I’m not inclined to do my chores and schoolwork properly and to the best of my ability.  When I see my peers and fellow Christians rising in excellence and good works, I look at my own life and feel that it is slipping away without ever fulfilling my life-quest or calling.  It’s almost as though everything I do is meaningless.  Sometimes it is difficult to shake the feeling that I’m trapped with my life; just helping the family and learning to be patient with my siblings.

A Mission and a Vision for the Future

JUST?!  Just helping the family?  Just learning to be patient?  One day I took a walk and started thinking about my mission in life.  I realized that right now God has placed me in my family as the oldest child ON PURPOSE, His purpose.  I don’t need to go anywhere to ‘find my calling’; God has placed me in a mission field right here today.  I found a beautiful little stone of chalk that day, which I call my mission stone.  It is white with streaks of pink across it.  Hopefully through the years it will remind me that no matter what life looks like, I have a purpose.  Am I going to fulfill that purpose today, or am I going to wait for God to hand me something bigger before I really start obeying Him? 

Luke 16:10-   He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful in much.

I suppose if I had gone with David Livingstone into the deep jungle there would have been days where nothing exciting happened; days where all we did was work and eat and sleep.  But just think, if he hadn’t worked hard and well through the ‘boring days’, he could not have done the great missionary work that he did.  We can’t see the whole picture, but I assure you, it is a grand one indeed!  God Almighty sees time and history much differently than we do since he is not limited by time or place; He is eternal, infinite.  We are finite; confined to this very moment forever.  He sees the much bigger plan, His plan of course, and He is much more capable of figuring out the courses of human history than we are.  My main job is to trust Him, copy Him, and be ready to jump when He calls for me.

A Prayer

Lord, please help me in this, I can’t do anything without You; this I know, and believe that You will hear me and shape me into the image of Your Son more perfectly someday in the Kingdom where we will be with You forever.  Amen

Contentment

There is a difference between complacency and contentment.  There is also a difference between living your life in mediocrity and stepping out in faith to be mighty for God.  Some of us, like me, want to do big things, but we either can’t move forward in our plans to revolutionize the world, or worse, we have no plans to revolutionize the world.  Either way, I must realize that even when my days consist of nothing more than washing dishes and studying Algebra, I am in His will so long as I obey Him. 

Galatians 6:9- And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.  (Emphasis mine)

It is very important to cultivate a willing spirit, to be truly eager to do whatever God calls you to do, whether it is evangelizing on the streets of Chicago, martyrdom, or simply showing your brothers and sisters the love of Christ every day while you’re with them.

Discontentment…

It’s easy to be discontent.  Many people are dissatisfied with their families, their jobs and their income.  It’s very easy to be complacent and not really care about doing your best.  That is definitely not God’s way and is NOT in the Bible.  Sometimes God will show us that we are lapsing into apathy and this kind of discontentment is good since it shows Him working through us.  Jesus knew that humans are weak and quite often we yield to temptation, so He gave us His own example to follow and also the examples of other Christians.  Go read Hebrews 11, you know, the ‘Faith’ chapter of the Bible to see what I mean.  He wants us to have examples and it is important to choose good and godly people. 

Hebrews 12:1-2a-   Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.  (Emphasis mine)

So, who do you admire?

I admire a woman who lived in America after the Pilgrims landed and before the American Revolution, during the time when our country was being explored and settled.  What is her name?  I don’t know, I don’t even know anything else about her, but she is in my mind and symbolizes all the people who quietly went about their business, raised their families, and are not even known of today.  They lived lives of seeming insignificance, but were really the cornerstone of this country.  They were firmly rooted in Jesus Christ and though they may not have seen the fruit of their labors, without them there wouldn’t be America.  We wouldn’t have a family tree!

What on earth is my point?

Have I been chasing rabbit trails, getting off from my main theme somewhere and rambling endlessly about everything under the sun?  Have I asked enough questions?  I don’t think so, although it’s possible. 

(If you’re still reading this now it means that you are either very interested, very kind, very dedicated or you just skimmed down to the ending!  Well, which is it?) 

People inspire us to great things which usually (really always!) entitle doing hard things.  As it has been said before, hard things are not only big, phenomenal feats that make everyone turn around and say “WOW!”  I love reading about them because it gives me a glimpse at how big God is and how He uses weak, imperfect humans to do mighty works.  Sometimes though, the biggest accomplishments are what no one else ever knows about.  When we reflect the glory of the Son in our soul and take advantage of where God put us, then we are doing His will and becoming a creature He takes pleasure in.  There isn’t anything more awesome than that!!

In Christ~

Jordan Elizabeth

PS- This is an article I have been thinking about for at least a year.  I finished it recently for a girl's online e-zine I am a writer for.