Ordinary Faithfulness

     Ordinary Faithfulness

“He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.” Ephesians 1:5-6

Sometimes the Lord seems so silent and the noise increases. 

There is something that has seemed to take over at this time. The cicadas have returned and they are everywhere! When you walk you step on them or they might fall on you. We live with lots of trees in our backyard and all you have to do is step outside and you hear the constant noise. This morning I was grocery shopping, I got into the car and had one on my leg. The unexpected bug seems to be everywhere you look.  I have a neighbor that isn’t a fan and even as she tries to avoid them she will encounter them just doing her everyday ordinary things. I’ve see pictures on Social Media of people wearing them, holding them, and even heard of people who have dogs that love to eat them. There is no avoiding them at this time. Sometimes that is how I feel about the war within my heart and mind. Some days it is a quieter hum and other days it is so loud.  As much as I don’t care for cicadas it has me thinking about how the Created created them and as much as He values all creation His most prized possession is us. 

It is pretty crazy thing to think that the same God who made those cicadas is the same God that created heaven and earth. And that same God decided to adopt us as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ. Knowing our character He still chose that. He still chooses that. Even when we forget and He knows that we forget. Nothing surprises Him.

The cicadas will soon be gone but the constant mercy of God never ends. I love that word Beloved. Beloved speaks of chosen ones. A deep affection, we receive special status because of Jesus. Children of the Most High God. And the constant mercy is received from Jesus the Savior of the world. His Holy Spirit lives within us to remind us we aren’t alone. We are unconditionally loved by God through Jesus.

As strange as the cicadas have been to come from nowhere it has been a reminder of the distraction they bring and the noise I can choose to praise in the noise.  And when it is silent it is a choice to believe. Because the silence is building my faithfulness. The noise is building my resilience to withstand what comes at me. Eventually it will get quiet again and those are times I will probably forget or become undisciplined. The Creator created us to worship Him IN noise and IN the chaos because He is IN it all. 

Father,

You created us to worship you alone. We are your Beloved chosen in Christ. When it gets really noisy remind us that your Presence is in the noise. It is because of your glorious grace that has been lavished on us that we can live in the freedom of knowing no matter what you are with us. Turn our eyes towards you Jesus. Keep our focus on eternal things. We praise you for the difficult things because we know that produces your strength within us. You are Worthy of all our praise. You are Holy, Righteous, and Good beyond belief.  Renew our faith when doubt is crippling. 

“I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them say, Blessing and honor and glory and power be to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Revelations 5:13

One day we will praise you forever in Heaven but until then we will choose to keep praising you in the unknowns. We will choose to praise you the struggles. We choose to praise you in the quiet. 

Amen