As you may know, AHM has been to quite a few different corners of the world. We have seen the wonders and radical changes the Lord brings from a simple yes, and we have been overjoyed to see the fruit of each harvest.
We know there are many of you that await your own harvest from the Lord—whether it’s an answer to a prayer, a calling He placed in your life, or a new direction that you may be walking. Sometimes the period in between awaiting the Lord’s direction and actually going and doing what He asked can be so hard. How can we walk back into the life we knew when we watched miracles unfold in the life of another?
It’s thrilling to be in action and watching all God planned take place, but the ordinary is where the extraordinary are refined and equipped. You cannot expect a firefighter to walk into a wildfire without his gear. In the same way, it’s by God’s love and mercy He doesn’t just throw you into a new season or a new calling without equipping you.
What if we turned our hearts from frustration over where the Lord has us and instead began to ask something new?
What if the ordinary is a space in which we can begin to ask the Lord to do something deeper—to search us, to know us completely and to heal and sanctify us?
Because God is kind, I believe He slows us down at times to protect us and to begin forming something deeper. Not only our faith, but also a heart and character that has been tested and strengthened to carry it well. It’s hard to learn to trust God with all of ourselves if we are never given a space to learn it. Where is a better starting place than in the simple, hidden moments?
What joy can we take up in walking with Him daily and falling in love with Him on a deeper level? It is by His love we often take bigger steps of faith and soar to new heights. It starts in the ordinary. In the frosted sunrises and over a cup of tea. It’s the moments you are scrubbing last night’s dishes you left on the counter to procrastinate cleaning—I mean, “soak.”
The ordinary is a space that we learn to be seen and known by God in a way that fills a deeper hunger that we mask with things like platforms and prominence. You were created to be known. You were wired to long to be loved and seen as an image bearer of the Lord. That basic desire is reminiscent of the relationship among the trinity.
When we shift our lives in a way that holds us in the presence of God, how we respond to calling drastically changes.
What if the steps you have been aching to reach for in His call for your life are the moments you choose to spend in the stillness and quiet with Him? There are plenty of friends that will read the Word every day on a mission trip and then rarely crack it open once they return home. It can be the same for stormy seasons—clinging to your Bible buoy to stay afloat, and then pulling away from God when the storm passes.
It’s easy to read this and know it’s true. It’s another matter to live it out and learn how to.
We can speak truth to you, friend, but the choice still remains in your hands. We want to encourage you to take a moment and examine your habits in the ordinary.
Perhaps the restlessness in your heart isn’t actually about the next chapter—what if it’s the longing in your soul to walk with God?
We firmly believe that the Lord can do extraordinary things through you. We want to encourage you on that path!
If you know this longing and wish to walk closer, here is a little guidance that has helped other friends in their own walk:
Find a time to sit in silence with the Lord and listen. Shut off your phone and leave it in another room and grab a journal. Sometimes the voice of the Lord truly is a gentle whisper, a nudge that grows into a step of faith.
Friend, there is GRACE. Building habits and getting closer to God takes time. Do not walk into this expecting perfection or immediate results. That means, if you forget to read your Bible from time to time, or you miss your alarm, you can always try again. Aim for a slow and steady increase.Not everyone does well building up their “ordinary,” alone. We were made for relationships and fellowship. Choose a friend to begin with. Set yourself up for success with accountability.
You are not disqualified or lesser if you aren’t a morning person and can’t read the Bible or worship at 5am. Find a time that works for you. Whether that’s during nap time, after dinner, or maybe it’s a split through the day. The goal isn’t to have the perfect instagramable study—it’s to know God, and to rely on Him before your harvest arrives.Above all, keep asking. Pray for your next steps, and for where He may be leading. Breathe. There is time, and you’re not running behind.
I wait [patiently] for the Lord, my soul [expectantly] waits, and in His word do I hope.
Psalms 130:5 AMP
If you’d like a prayer as a starting point, this is one you can follow!
Father,
I am in a season where I find it hard to be still. You know the desires of my heart and I am eager for the next chapter You’re writing in my life. I want to ask You to teach me every part of me to trust you and for my body and and mind to be still. I ask for guidance to the moments through the day where it’s just You and me. Holy Spirit, I ask that you quiet my mind and surround my body with peace so I can focus on You. Prepare my heart to receive Your wisdom so that I can live a life that honors You above all else. Search me, o Lord, and know me. Shift my desires to match Yours and help me to transform these ordinary days into extraordinary moments with You.
Amen.
