By Ife J. Ibitayo
If Disney has taught us anything, it’s that life should be incredible. Our prim, perfect neighbors are superheroes, and our evil math professor is a nefarious villain. We’re the protagonist, of course, waiting for our adventure to begin. But for some reason we’re still in the prologue.
Prophet Isaiah said, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it” (Isaiah 43:18-19)? But I don’t. There must be something more than my ordinary desk job on a typical weekday, staring out my window at the setting sun.
Finding the Incredible in the Everyday
Sometimes it feels like God is mysteriously absent from the present. It’s easy to find Him in the past if you read the Bible. He parted the Red Sea, deposed kings, and walked among us. According to Scripture, God worked incredible acts thousands of years ago. And God has promised that He will do incredible things again. He will descend from on high, riding on a brilliant white horse—like every romance lover’s wildest dream—and He will slaughter all His foes in a final, glorious battle (Revelation 19:11-21). He will wipe away every tear from our eyes and make all the wrong things right. But what is God doing right now?
He is our sustainer, our provider, and our healer. When the Bible ascribes titles to the LORD, they are not spoken in the past or future tense but the present tense. He is our Prince of Peace (Isaiah 53:5) in the middle of our present chaos. He is our Mighty Warrior (Zephaniah 3:17) in the battles we’re fighting today.
Finding the Incredible in the Ordinary
I’ve also come to understand that the ordinary is not the same as the mundane. Author G.K. Chesterton once said, “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.” God has seen countless sunrises and sunsets, yet He never grows weary of seeing them all over again.
Yet I all too often do. I ignore the warm orange sun descending below the horizon, splashing bright reflections on the pond across from my apartment. I forget about the thousands of bright flowers growing in the soft grass lining the streets I bustle over. Large black headphones block out the chorus of serenading songbirds as I hurry on my way. And I’m even too preoccupied to really listen to my bumping jams. Every day I neglect the wonder of the Creator in every moment.
Conclusion
The prophet Elijah had an indescribable encounter with God. In the lowest season of his life, the LORD spoke to him. He sent a tornado, an earthquake, and a wildfire, but God wasn’t present in any of these great acts. Instead, He came in a still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13).
We want God to wow us, but He wants to woo us. His love letters are subtle yet incredible if we take the time to read them.
“In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.”
(Psalm 19:4b-6)
