The Ordinary Is Extraordinary

Written by Lawrence Yoo

In the coming months, as we continue to study Jesus' encounters with others in the book of John, we would like to hear stories of your encounters with Jesus. If you are interested in writing a post about how you first came to know Jesus or a significant encounter with Him in your life, please contact Erika at Erika@waypointrdu.com.

We have a fascination with the supernatural in our culture. Who doesn’t, right? We love the glitz, the extraordinary, not the ordinary. Our problem, when it comes to the Holy Spirit in our lives, is that we don’t see the extraordinary in the ordinary.

If I were to ask you when have you seen the Holy Spirit move in amazing ways in your life or the life on another believer, what would you say? Would it be a healing or a miraculous word of prophecy? It does take the Holy Spirit for miracles to happen, and I never want to try to limit or discredit any work of the Spirit. However, I also don’t want to miss the fact that it takes the Holy Spirit’s power moving in me to help be a concerned neighbor and an understanding husband.

Is the Holy Spirit real? Yes. Have we neglected Him because of the fear of abuses? Yes, and we want to change that. I am a firm believer in our need for the Holy Spirit to be moving in our lives. However, I think so often we make the mistake of seeking after the magician’s tricks of the Spirit, rather than the every day sustaining grace of the Spirit. I believe I need the Spirit to play with my children at the end of the day just as much as I need Him guiding me as I preach a sermon Sunday morning.

A friend of mine spent time several years in another country teaching, sharing the gospel, and discipling new believers. When she returned, some people seemed disappointed that she didn’t have any “miraculous” stories of healings or demons cast out to tell. Later, she pondered, “Isn’t it just as miraculous to see a life-long atheist joyfully accept Christ as Savior, despite the threat of persecution, and then grow in their faith?”

When do see the Spirit move the most? When we are not relying on our own power. If we never stretch ourselves out of our own comfort zone or our self-sufficiency, we won’t hear or see the move of the Spirit. It is when we acknowledge and see our need (which comes from times of tension and stretching) that we see the Holy Spirit give us strength to do things we couldn’t do on our own. What do I mean by tension? I believe there are many topics in which the Bible doesn’t give a clear black or white answer. For example: giving. To give joyfully and sacrificially involves tension. We rely on the council of the Holy Spirit. Proclaiming the gospel involves tension. We rely on the council of the Holy Spirit to show us who to share with, when to persist in sharing, and when to prayerfully move on. Every relationship involves tension. We walk with the Holy Spirit, leaning on Him as we learn how to best love those around us.

We need the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life whether it is going to hard places and doing dangerous things, or whether it is faithfully displaying the fruit of the Spirit in the mundane routines of daily life. I pray we will all walk by the Spirit and experience more of His power.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Galatians 5:22