I started reading the information introducing the book of Ruth and as I read the Meaning and Message section in my NLT Study Bible, the words, “God usually works in the ordinary events of everyday life. Miracles do happen, but God regularly accomplishes his purposes and blesses his people through routine occurrences. If we learn faithfulness in the every day, we are equipped to be faithful when crisis come” popped off the page.
How does this connect to Mathew 26:1-35,57-27:66 regarding the death of Christ on the cross and to life today? We are no different from those who lived during Jesus time. Jesus performed countless miracles, rose people from the dead, turned water into wine and healed lepers and yet they could not see as Matthew 27:42-43 says, “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the king of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe him! He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, “I am the Son of God.’ ”
They wanted something big and showy to make them finally believe and counted the other miracles as loss. They needed more proof and sadly we scream and yell the same things. Today, we continue to question God’s very existence when we don’t have to look far to see him. He is in the ordinary things of life. He’s in the things we call mundane in our routines. He is in the very air we breathe, wind on our faces, and in clear view of everything we see, and yet, we take them for granted quickly discarding them for something bigger, more showy, a miracle beyond miracles to truly know and believe He is real.
The world teaches us that seeing is believing. I always giggle a little when I hear, “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes!” I know that I have said that myself too, but what I find telling, is even though we see, just as in Jesus’ time, we still don’t believe and want something more, something bigger to really believe!
I was not there when Jesus was sacrificed on the cross for my sins. I was not there when He rose from the dead. I was not there when He ascended into heaven, and yet, I believe! This does not mean that I should discount what is written because I did not see with my own eyes! Jesus is the gift, the miracle given! While we were yet sinners He died to redeem us and give us life in the eternal! No one is good enough to get there on their own, no acts of righteousness, nor every good deed, but only by His Son!
Instead of seeing to believe, what if believing is seeing? When we seek Him in our everyday, our ordinary, our mundane, we see him revealing Himself in an extraordinary way. When we believe to see, our vision is changed from big and showy to subtle hints and reminders. He reveals Himself walking with and beside us, accomplishing things we can’t on our own. We lift Him up making Him the center of our lives, the primary focus of all things. Doing this, we see His hand, His workings, and all things clearly. He lets us see Him, believing, preparing us for the big and showy miracle of His return that every eye will see. What He reveals in our ordinary becomes our foundation and truth to the extraordinary having breathtaking eternal results.
This morning started out peacefully as I enjoyed time in The Word and a cup of coffee. One by one sounds from kids’ alarm clocks went off alerting me the house was waking. I giggled as each sound from their clocks directly reflected who they are as a child. The morning going well, I sat and continued writing in my journal while waiting for the kids to finish up. The peaceful and flowing morning came to an abrupt stop within a few minutes of leaving for the bus. Oh how things change in just the mere matter of a second!
Life Unfolded 