LifeLink Devotions

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

It was an ordinary day. I had gotten used to sleeping on a smaller portion of the bed. I was always an early riser, so the 5 a.m. restlessness was normal. But this time the movement wasn’t mine. Denise was restless and experiencing some pain in her back. She tried to sleep some more while I showered and got ready for another typical day at work. Denise rose and prepared for her day, but the pains would not subside. We called the hospital, and the day became extraordinary. We soon held our third child in our arms. His name is Joshua, and today is his birthday. God had invaded this ordinary day at first light and given us an extraordinary gift.

Max Lucado describes another ordinary day.

“An ordinary night with ordinary sheep and ordinary shepherds. And were it not for a God who loves to hook an “extra” on the front of the ordinary, the night would have gone unnoticed. The sheep would have been forgotten, and the shepherds would have slept the night away.

“But God dances amidst the common. And that night he did a waltz.

“The black sky exploded with brightness …. Sheep that had been silent became a chorus of curiosity. One minute the shepherd was dead asleep, the next he was rubbing his eyes and staring into the face of an alien.

“The night was ordinary no more.

“The angel came in the night because that is when lights are best seen and that is when they are most needed. God comes into the common for the same reason.”

Luke 2:8-12 “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

God invades the ordinary. It’s an invasion of supernatural proportions. His presence is experienced in moments of greatest contrast. Light is brightest when night is darkest. Love is warmest when hate is coldest. Joy is most exuberant when sorrow is most oppressive. Forgiveness is best when sin is at its worst. God is understood when man cannot understand.

It is in the ordinary that God shows up and reveals the extraordinary. Lonely shepherds. The outcasts of society. Longing for a stable for their lambs, and instead are introduced to the Lamb of God. That’s how God does it. He turns the ordinary desires of our hearts into extraordinary spiritual encounters with His Son. Nothing is the same after that. Shepherds are still shepherds, but they’re shepherds with hope and joy.

Look out! God is preparing to invade your ordinary day, your ordinary routine, your ordinary lifestyle and your ordinary attitude. He’s about to show you where to encounter His Son. He’s going to do something that will change you forever. Nothing will ever be ordinary again.

 Pastor John