Extraordinary Ordinary - Part 1
May 29, 2022Today's message was given by Pastor Josh Yancey. A video of the message is here. "God makes the ordinary extraordinary. God can make you extraordinary despite your issues."
The Torah takes not just the ordinary, but the darn-near evil, and turns them into extraordinary things. Some would put it this way: "puts new wine in old vessels." For instance, at the time the Torah was introduced, pagans made sacrifices to their gods, usually to bribe them into something: rain, fertility, etc. The Torah said, OK, we can do sacrifice, too, but now it's not for your gods, it's for you to get closer to the one God in thanks and/or repentance. That's making the ordinary, even the evil, in to extraordinary good.
At the burning bush (Exodus 3), we learn some interesting things about ordinary, extraordinary, and being open to the difference. Afterall, it was just a bush, a lowly bush. Why not a grand oak tree!? Nope, just an ordinary bush. Moses did more than notice the bush. He turned back to gaze at the bush, study it, as it were. Why was it burning but not being consumed? It is at this point, and only at this point, that God reveals himself to Moses because Moses was paying attention, beginning to recognize that there was something extraordinary here. How often do we not look at something long enough to catch on to what is actually happening? I think part of what's being taught here is that you have to be open to the extraordinary and willing to "study it" long enough to grasp the situation. You have to be open to hearing from God in order to actually hear from God. You have to notice the divine. Or put another way, you have to be open to and recognize the extraordinary when you see it. You have to "come halfway" to meet God, so to speak.
The Torah is pretty clear throughout that sacrifice is often necessary to get to extraordinary. Abraham had to "get up and go," leave a life he loved, and go. Be prepared to do that in some way. A common sacrifice to expect is the giving up of other things you've been "worshipping," other "false gods," if you will, to which you've been dedicating resources.
It's also quite clear that the heroes and heroines of the Torah are quite ordinary people, lifted out of very ordinary circumstances, that God uses extraordinarily! Not only are many of the Torah heroes quite ordinary, they're often not even Hebrews! God can do extraordinary things with anyone.
Thinking beyond anything religious, it's interesting, generally speaking, that seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary is a valuable thing. Photographers, for example, try to see and bring out the extraordinary in an ordinary scene. Photographers talk about "changing perspective" to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. Maybe "tilting your head a little and paying attention" is enough to "see" God's extraordinary possibilities for you. Or maybe change what area of your life you are "focusing" on to discover God's extraordinary purpose(s) for you.
One of the principles of 12-step programs (like Alcoholics Anonymous) is to "see the extraordinary in the ordinary." In the case of addictions where one is always reaching for a higher high, finding the extraordinary in the ordinary can provide a better "high."
While not exactly on point with what Josh was getting at, here's an interesting list of 126 suggestions for becoming extraordinary today.
Bonus
Showing kindness to strangers is an oft-repeated theme of the Torah. Look at when we first meet Rebecca (who soon will be Isaac's betrothed). She goes out to the well for water as she does every day and a stranger there asks her for a drink. She doesn't just offer him a drink, she rushes to give the man a drink AND then rushes to water the stranger's 10 camels. Do you know how long and how much work it takes to fill up 10 camels?! The stranger, sent by Abraham to find a wife for Isaac, knows he's found an extraordinarily kind and good woman for Isaac. Read the rest of the story to see how skillfully Abraham's servant negotiates for Rebecca. Genesis 24.