Seasons of Ordinary Time

Webster's dictionary defines the word ordinary to mean "with no special or distinctive features; normal." I like the pairing of ordinary with our concept of time, in order to refer to seasons of life that may not contain special events. 

In a liturgical sense, Ordinary Time is said to be "all those parts of the...liturgical year that aren't included in the major seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter." I think that we, as believers, experience seasons of Ordinary Time in which nothing big or special or particularly eye-catching seems to be taking place. We live in an age of entertainment, and when life is not entertaining us and our desires, we question the goodness of God to us. This spurns the love and care of our Father! 

All of God's people in all of time have experienced seasons of Ordinary Time. Even Jesus Himself worked quietly as a carpenter for thirty years before entering into His ministry, and He came from a place that was not revered. "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" {John 1:46} You and I are not exceptions to the working of God. What if He is calling us to an ordinary, uneventful, prolonged season of faithfulness? Are we after His glory primarily in any and all seasons of life?

1. Moses spent forty years as a royal {Exodus 2:10}, murdered someone {Exodus 7:23-29}, and then spent forty years in a wilderness {Exodus 3:1-15}. Think of the sheer number of years that it took for Moses to be molded into the leader of God's people!
2. Think of Hannah {1 Samuel 1}, childless for so long, begging God for the blessing of a child to the point of seeming to be drunk; and think of God's compassion on her.
3. Think of Anna {Luke 2:36-38}, widowed at a young age and serving faithfully in the temple until God allowed her to see Christ in person!

God is not a God Who works according to the ways in which we think He ought. 

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' declares the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.'" {Isaiah 55:8-9} 

He is above us, He is Other. He is completely Holy and Just and Kind, and He does not review His plan with us before working it out in order to make sure it contains the "kindness" that we think ought to be there. 

"Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker--An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, 'What are you doing?' Or the thing you are making say, 'He has no hands?'" {Isaiah 45:9}

"The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?" {Proverbs 20:24}

"No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the LORD." {Proverbs 21:30}

**Thoughts for Seasons of Ordinary Time: Here is what God is teaching me...

Cultivate faithfulness. I have to ask myself, how is God being honored? And the answer comes, by leading a life of faithfulness in the arenas of life where God has placed me. "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much." {Luke 16:10}  

Embrace the emotions that may come with this Ordinary Time of life and bring them to the presence of God. Feelings of awkward, feelings of confusion, feelings of discouragement can all be present in our hearts; it is what we do with these emotions that matters and affects the state of our hearts before God. If a particular emotion comes, don't shove it! Pay attention and ask, what is this thing that I am feeling saying about where my heart is at right now? Is is showing me an area where I need to repent or better apply God's promises? 

Embrace your church family! If you are struggling, do not sequester yourself off from fellowship, but reach out to other believers and be purposeful about meeting together. Concern yourself with the cares of others, and also share what has been on your heart and mind. Be open to reproof! Be vulnerable with some trusted, wise people. Look for ways to serve your brothers and sisters. 

When you are in a "mood," theology! If you are inclined toward melancholy or grumbling toward God, especially in ordinary seasons of life, remind yourself of truth. Is God sovereign? YES. Does He know what He is doing? YES. Does He care about you? YES. Trust these truths, even in the midst of the mood. 

Lean in to the things you enjoy. In your unique personality, has God provided you with things that you are inclined to love doing? Art? Hiking? Writing? Then find ways to incorporate those things into your days and share your abilities with others. You both will be blessed!

Be purposeful in understanding your specific gifting and ministry to the Church. Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? Have you found the unique ways in which you can serve your church? Good! If not, talk to God about it and communicate your desire to honor God in this way to believers who know you well. Ask them for feedback on what gifting they see in your life. With the understanding of how God might be using you to serve His body, you can better open yourself up to ministry opportunities. 

Find the humor, and laugh at the oddities. Life is weird sometimes. Unexpected things happen. IT'S OKAY. Choose to see the funny. I like this quote from one of my favorite comedians, Gilda Radner: "Some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what is going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity..." {And I would add, recognize God's sovereignty in this process.}

Own your quirks, and praise God that He is renovating you. We are all pieces of the puzzle of His Church, and we must trust that we fit. There is a lovely contentment that comes with accepting yourself as you are, a creation of God who is being transformed into the likeness of Christ. "I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of...." {George MacDonald} 

Let the things that happen in life work out a softness and humility in your heart. One of my favorite podcasters, Brant Hansen, writes in his book Unoffendable, "Few want to hear this, but it's true, and it can be enormously helpful in life: if you're constantly being hurt, offended, or angered, you should honestly evaluate your inflamed ego." He continues to write, "Whenever there's any injury to a relationship, a hurt, a broken heart, or even a broken thing, and you are willing to forgive, you are saying, 'I got this. I'm going to pick up the bill for this.' This is, of course, precisely what God has done for us." Be willing to serve in quiet ways, be willing to become a fragrant and sacrificial aroma to God to honor Him. "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." {Ephesians 5:1-2} 

In conclusion, here is a link to a song that I think sums up these thoughts nicely. May we journey well! And find joy along our ordinary way!

Call You Blessed by Bethany Barnard