We get so caught up in the daily tasks of life. We cook, work, clean, shop for everyone’s needs, and pitch in everywhere. The list goes on and on and can often leave us feeling depleted. When we let that depleted feeling take hold of us and allow it to rule our days, we are really squeezing God out. Galatians 5: 22 tells us that the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are not the things Monica was feeling when she called, or that most women are feeling at the end of a long day. But there are things that we can do to help us live more in the Holy Spirit so that we can experience these wonderful gifts. Of course we have to begin at the beginning – that is to say, the beginning of our day. As soon as we can at the start of each day, preferably before our feet hit the floor, we need to ask God into our day. Ask God what purpose He wants you to live out in that particular day. This doesn’t mean what tasks you should complete. You only need to reach for your “to do” list for that. Asking God for the day’s purpose goes to the heart of how you will relate to others all day. God may give you thoughts about being more mindful of your spouse’s needs, and how you should meet them more cheerfully. He may remind you that He wants you to work that day on speaking to your children in calm and loving tones. He may inspire you to change your schedule a bit because He wants to have time with you, and He needs you to slow your pace so you have more time to concentrate on Him. He may bring just one word to mind such as patience, or humor.
Every day may have a different and unique purpose. But when we start by asking God to reveal it, we can then order the tasks of the day under His purpose and know how to approach them better, finding the grace in them. This approach is very different from the “stand back, Lord, and watch all that I can do for you today” approach with which most of us race through each day. We spend our energy doing a million things we think will be pleasing to God (or even our loved ones). Then we get frustrated when everyone doesn’t fall all over themselves appreciating us, and we don’t feel any closer to God after all our efforts. But when our first moments of the day tap us into His grace and help us get that days marching orders, we will spend more of our time in accordance with His will and will end the day with more of a sense of “rightness” in our hearts. Each task in the day comes with its own grace, and finding that grace is the next step in our day.
Every interaction we have with another person is a chance for us to see and serve Christ in them, and to reflect Christ to them. Jesus tells us what we do to the least of His people we do unto him. If we can train ourselves to see Jesus in our spouse, our children, our co-workers, we will begin to approach people differently and God’s grace will begin to flow between us. Even the most redundant and menial tasks will take on a sanctifying depth they hadn’t had before.
Grace is the ability to see sanctification in the mundane and realize that it is an opportunity to build a better world.
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