Cultivating Faithfulness in the Ordinary of Every Day

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness – Psalm 37:3 (NASB)

I assume that all of us have big dreams and visions for life. They might be dreams of staring your own business or planting a church. My wife Janice, and I have big dreams and visions for Life Church in Conyers Georgia where we pastor. Our visions help keep us on a path of growth.  I hope you all have a big visions for your growth as a disciple of Jesus.

The thing about visions is they most often lay somewhere out there and it can easily seem that our daily life is, well, just ordinary.

What if the success of our life with Jesus is actually found in the ordinary of every day?

The ordinary every day of work, family and ministry.

The other day during my personal study time, Psalm 37:3 jumped out at me. I began to reflect on what it means to cultivate faithfulness.

Faithfulness is staying true to someone or showing allegiance. The Bible is full of scriptures of how God is faithful to us. We in turn should respond by being faithful to him. We have must take care to cultivate faithfulness to God.

Faithfulness to God means he has all of us 24/7

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” – Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV)

As we cultivate faithfulness we grow in the desire to obey God’s word and love our neighbors. We also desire to have the opportunity share the good news of Jesus. I know as a pastor I often think in big programs and outreach events.  However, we need to make ourselves available at any given moment to be used of God. Perhaps a trip to the grocery store or while waiting in line at the bank can turn into one of those moments. At a minimum we can offer a smile and a kind word.

Since I am a bi-vocational Pastor I work a tech job Monday thru Friday in downtown Atlanta. Most afternoons around 3 PM I will take a walk. Several of the buildings are connected by bridges so I can walk a good three blocks without going outside.

One ordinary afternoon I was headed back to my building just minding my own little world when I saw a mail lady walking in the opposite direction. She had a really bad limp and I could see the pain in her face as she pushed a large mail cart. As I passed by her, I heard a whisper, “Pray for her.” No it was not really audible but I clearly heard the voice of the Holy Spirit. I kept walking and began to say a quiet prayer. Then I heard, “No, go pray for her! “

Remember now, I am a major introvert. My mind raced to find every excuse but none of them would stick. I turned around walked to catch up. She stopped to collect mail from a box. I introduced myself and asked if I could pray for her. She looked shocked as this strange white man asked if he could pray with her. (She was African American) She willingly said yes. I prayed a simple prayer. No she was not healed physically but I could tell she was deeply moved. I take no credit for anything. I just made myself available in the ordinary of the every day. These moments do not happen as often as I would like but I do my best to always be available.

I work at a computer and I could go a whole day and never talk face to face with another person. I try every day to make a face to face connection with as many people as possible just in case an opportunity opens up.

Don’t see your days as ordinary.

Every trip to the grocery store, or every errand you run can easily turn into a wonderful opportunity for ministry. We must be proactive and intentional to cultivate faithfulness.

Take time to see how you can cultivate faithfulness in the ordinary of every day.

Let me know in the comments how you cultivate faithfulness.

Photo by Scott Goodwill on Unsplash

How can I pray for you this week? – click here to send me your request

Be sure and subscribe to my YouTube Channel

PS. Don’t miss out. Sign up for free updates. Then be sure and connect on Facebook!

About the Author: Jon Stallings

I am enthusiastic about helping others discover their purpose and grow into a deeper relationship with Jesus. It is great to see their eyes light up at their “Ah Ha!” moment when they discover they were created for something more. My hope is that this blog will help encourage and inspire you along your way. Join the conversation and take the time to share with me your own story. I have been married to my beautiful wife Janice for over 30 years. We currently live in McDonough Georgia with our daughter. Our two boys have left the nest and we have two wonderful grand kids. Of course we cannot forget about our dog Bear.