An Extraordinary Life
Posted by Erin | | Posted On Sunday, February 15, 2015
So many dreams, hopes, plans, desires.
I cry out, "Here I am Lord! Send me! Use me! I yearn to lead an Extraordinary Life for You, a life full; a life whose each and every breath screams with purpose and meaning. I will proclaim Your Name to the nations; wherever You send, there I will go; whatever You ask, that I will do. I will write a book. I will teach the multitudes. I will sing to crowds. I will live Hugely and make a Difference! For You. For You."
But.
You speak to me gently. Tenderly. In a whisper. You nudge my heart softly. Didn't King David have grand plans too? His passion and love for You also planted a hunger in his soul. He cried out, "Here I am, living in a palace while You dwell in a meager tent. This should not be so! I will build a house for You!!!"
So many dreams, hopes, plans, desires...to which You said, "No."
No?
No.
For this house building was David's plan, not Your plan. A good plan, a noble plan, borne of good intentions, perhaps, but his plan for You rather than Your plan for him.
You replied, "Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in?" (2 Samuel 7:5)
So eager am I to live Big for You, to live bravely, to take risks, to do the Incredible; the Unbelievable; the Impossible; the Extraordinary; Your glory shining through my broken vessel, a luminous beam in this murky world; Your power and sovereignty directing and moving
marionette-me to conquer the universe.
But.
I hear You whisper, "You told me that you would go wherever I sent, and do whatever I asked. Do these destinations and works not include the mundane? The everyday? The ordinary? A life of humility? Every. Moment. Is. Sacred."
Your gentle murmurings, love sighs that pierce my heart.
For, if I am soul-searchingly honest, I fear journeying this holy path to earthly life's end and realizing that my time on earth had no purpose, that my service to You, my Lord, was not Extraordinary or Tremendous.
That I...
I...
I...
did not change The World.
That I...
I...
I...
did not do Big Things.
That You, oh Lord, did not use Me...
Me...
Me...
in Enormous Ways.
What self-worship! What vanity! What faulty focus! Who is the subject of these desires?
For if I am willing to go anywhere and do anything...for You...I must also be willing to stay in my normal Everyday and journey through an Ordinary Existence if that is what You desire. For each life and every work appointed by You is anything but mundane and common. It is all divine and sacred; incredible and impossible; enormous and beautiful.
We are Masterpieces, knit together in wombs knit together by the world's Creator...Holy to the Lord.
We are redeemed by the red riches of Christ's blood...Holy to the Lord
We are breathing Temples, Holy Spirit Homes...Holy to the Lord.
We are Royal Sons and Daughters...Holy to the Lord.
Each life in its entirety is composed of a pathway of singular moments, a trail of holy bread crumbs strewn by the hand of God.
Every. Moment. Is. Sacred.
No sweeter life could exist than one in which the glory of the Lord is beheld in the ordinary.
This is Extraordinary.
I cry out, "Here I am Lord! Send me! Use me! I yearn to lead an Extraordinary Life for You, a life full; a life whose each and every breath screams with purpose and meaning. I will proclaim Your Name to the nations; wherever You send, there I will go; whatever You ask, that I will do. I will write a book. I will teach the multitudes. I will sing to crowds. I will live Hugely and make a Difference! For You. For You."
But.
You speak to me gently. Tenderly. In a whisper. You nudge my heart softly. Didn't King David have grand plans too? His passion and love for You also planted a hunger in his soul. He cried out, "Here I am, living in a palace while You dwell in a meager tent. This should not be so! I will build a house for You!!!"
So many dreams, hopes, plans, desires...to which You said, "No."
No?
No.
For this house building was David's plan, not Your plan. A good plan, a noble plan, borne of good intentions, perhaps, but his plan for You rather than Your plan for him.
You replied, "Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in?" (2 Samuel 7:5)
So eager am I to live Big for You, to live bravely, to take risks, to do the Incredible; the Unbelievable; the Impossible; the Extraordinary; Your glory shining through my broken vessel, a luminous beam in this murky world; Your power and sovereignty directing and moving
marionette-me to conquer the universe.
But.
I hear You whisper, "You told me that you would go wherever I sent, and do whatever I asked. Do these destinations and works not include the mundane? The everyday? The ordinary? A life of humility? Every. Moment. Is. Sacred."
Your gentle murmurings, love sighs that pierce my heart.
For, if I am soul-searchingly honest, I fear journeying this holy path to earthly life's end and realizing that my time on earth had no purpose, that my service to You, my Lord, was not Extraordinary or Tremendous.
That I...
I...
I...
did not change The World.
That I...
I...
I...
did not do Big Things.
That You, oh Lord, did not use Me...
Me...
Me...
in Enormous Ways.
What self-worship! What vanity! What faulty focus! Who is the subject of these desires?
For if I am willing to go anywhere and do anything...for You...I must also be willing to stay in my normal Everyday and journey through an Ordinary Existence if that is what You desire. For each life and every work appointed by You is anything but mundane and common. It is all divine and sacred; incredible and impossible; enormous and beautiful.
We are Masterpieces, knit together in wombs knit together by the world's Creator...Holy to the Lord.
We are redeemed by the red riches of Christ's blood...Holy to the Lord
We are breathing Temples, Holy Spirit Homes...Holy to the Lord.
We are Royal Sons and Daughters...Holy to the Lord.
Each life in its entirety is composed of a pathway of singular moments, a trail of holy bread crumbs strewn by the hand of God.
Every. Moment. Is. Sacred.
No sweeter life could exist than one in which the glory of the Lord is beheld in the ordinary.
This is Extraordinary.
