Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)
Wake up. Eat. Work. Sleep. Do it all over again tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.
Is it possible to live intimately with God when stuck in the often dreaded routine of everyday life? Could God have valuable lessons to teach us throughout monotonous routines? He does, but unfortunately, we are often too busy wishing for what we don’t have to notice. We look at others – bible characters, friends or missionaries – and think how much opportunity God has given them to be salt and light to the world. We look enviously at all of their opportunities and discard our own.
We are tempted to think that simply because we do the same thing every day, God renders us ineffective. The opposite is true. The reality is that we render Him ineffective because we get bored of our routine. We grow weary of repetition. But our Father doesn’t, and rather than being bored with the monotony, He may be the designer of it.
G.K. Chesterton explained this idea brilliantly: “Perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, ‘Do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon…The repetition in nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.”
We have all heard that we “can do all things through Christ” (Philippians 4:13 KJV), but do we believe this strength is strong enough to move us to “do it again” when we wake in the morning, fresh for the challenge of yet another day? Can we see our life as more than an audio book locked on repeat?
I need not look far for strength each day – I only need to look out my window. For even as I hear the dreaded buzz of my alarm clock, I can see that this morning, God has not been idle. He has done one more time what He has done millions of times: once again, He has instructed the sun to rise, the winds to blow and the birds to sing. And if He can do that millions of times over, surely I can face the day ahead with Him. Together we can delight in the magnificence of monotony.
Dig Deeper:
Prayer:
God of each moment, I want to see my time as You see it – each minute crafted by You, each hour an opportunity to live out the life You offer.
