Ordinary to Extraordinary

. . . made for pouring the riches of His Glory into grace and peace be yours in abundance...of Jesus our Lord.

I think many people feel at one time or another that their lives are ordinary, unremarkable, and even invisible. They define themselves as “only human’ in defense of some unresolved circumstance or perceived weakness. But God has a different plan. He desires that we “prosper in all things and be in health, just as [our] soul prospers” (3 Jn 1:2 NKJV). His plans are to prosper and not harm us, and to give us hope and a future (see Jer 29:11). His plans change our lives from ordinary to extraordinary.

The Bible says in Isaiah 53:2 (referring prophetically to Jesus), “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.” In the Book of Matthew, after people in Jesus’ hometown had been listening to Him preach and teach, they said, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Aren’t His sisters with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” (13:55-56 NIV). In other words, He had been viewed as being ordinary, but He was speaking extraordinary things to them.

Lois and Eunice are two women mentioned in the Bible as living in the early church time. They were the grandmother and mother of Timothy, respectively. They are only mentioned once in the Bible as women who brought Timothy up in the ways of the Lord. The apostle Paul writes this letter to Timothy: “I remember your sincere and unqualified faith [the surrendering of your entire self to God in Christ with confident trust in His power, wisdom and goodness, a faith] which first lived in [the heart of] your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am confident that is in you as well” (2 Tm 1:5 AMP). Lois and Eunice lived in a time of civil unrest, Roman occupation, and religious persecution. They lived in a religious culture where women were “invisible.” In biblical records of the feeding of the five thousand (see Matthew 14:13-21), women were not even counted. Women were expected to learn and listen quietly in church and were not permitted to teach men (see 1 Timothy 2:11-12). What we know of them is that they had unfeigned and sincere faith that was instilled into Timothy, who was appointed by the apostle Paul to be the leader of the church in Ephesus. Their faith had an extraordinary, multigenerational impact in laying the foundation of the Ephesian church.

Our enemy, the devil, wants to limit and confine our self-image, self-esteem, thinking, and lives to the realm of ordinary and invisible. Ordinary is defined as having “no special quality or interest; commonplace; unexceptional.” The devil wants to give ordinary a negative connotation. In the natural, the word has a more neutral connotation, neither good nor bad. As we live in faith, are we willing to allow God to extend the earthly impact of our lives from only temporal to include eternal? The Lord uses ordinary as a launching pad to fill us with hope and a future to reveal His glory. Romans 9:23-24 explains, “And he [God] has the right to take others such as ourselves, who have been made for pouring the riches of his glory into, whether we are Jews or Gentiles, and to be kind to us so that everyone can see how very great his glory is” (NLT). Wow! God pouring the riches of His glory into us so that others can see His great glory is pretty extraordinary!

Becoming born again and filled with the Holy Spirit transforms us, and we are never “only human” again! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Cor 5:17 NIV), and we are righteous through Jesus. God promises us: “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through Him who called us by His own glory and goodness” (2 Pt 1:2-3 NIV). As we read the inspired Word of God, we learn to follow the Holy Spirit and are changed from glory to glory (see Romans 8:11). When we do what God tells us to do—whether life is mundane and ordinary, or miraculous and exciting—we will be equipped and empowered to live our lives with strong faith. Becoming a daughter of the Most High God and King of kings is extraordinary. Learning to live beyond what we see with our eyes through a life of faith is exciting. Having peace in the midst of chaos and troubles is beyond our understanding. Having an instructed tongue to know how to sustain the weary (see Isaiah 50:4) is supernatural. Knowing that God, the Creator of the universe and the Creator of ourselves, loves us with an everlasting love anddraws us with His lovingkindness (see Jeremiah 31:3) is overwhelming!

I present a challenge: be like the women of the first church, Lois and Eunice, and choose to let God form a plan and bright future filled with goodness for you, and to pour His glory into your life! Choose to be an extraordinary vessel so that others may see how great His glory is!