Going beyond, exceptional… Those are words describing Extraordinary.
But looking at the word ‘extraordinary’ it is made up of two words… Extra and
Ordinary.
Extra Ordinary.
So being extra ordinary makes up the word Extraordinary…
something exceptional, to go beyond…? Ironic.
This is exactly what God does in His people. He calls
extra ordinary people to do Extraordinary things through Him and for His glory.
There have been many times in my life when I have had a dream
to accomplish something that is bigger than me. A dream that I want to chase
down and lavish in but then I hear those whispers…’ you’re not good enough, you’re
not smart enough, they won’t take you seriously, you’re not exceptional enough.’
I know we all experience those whispers in our minds. Those thoughts are
obviously not from the Lord.
I am reminded time and time again that perfection in
human form does not exist, nor will it ever exist. The more I grow in my
relationship with the Lord the more I proclaim the notion that there is NOTHING
good in me apart from Christ. Nothing. My flesh is totally fouled and
continuously failing. But with Christ as my Savior and with Him residing in me…
I become new and spiritually pure. My ‘extra ordinary’ becomes Extraordinary
through Christ.
I love the Word of God. The Holy Bible is our physical
connection to our Heavenly Father. The power in scripture, the truths, the
testimonies of people that God has used gives us hope when we may otherwise
have none. The Word of God continuously breath’s life into us.
I want to revisit some of my favorite testimonies in
the Bible. Mary was just an extra ordinary young girl who had a dream of being
a wife and a mother one day. God took Mary’s dream and multiplied it by
infinity.
In the Book of Luke chapter 1 verses 26-28 and
verses 30-35 it says, “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name
was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came
to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”… The angel
said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And
behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his
name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the
Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over
the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary
said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel
answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High
will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son
of God.”
God chose this extra ordinary girl to carry, birth,
and raise the Savior of the world. He chose her to do something Extraordinary
through Him.
David was just an extra ordinary shepherd boy, the
youngest of seven brothers. The Lord chose David from an early age. “Then
Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet
the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send
and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” And he sent and
brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And
the LORD said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of
oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the spirit of the LORD
rushed upon David from that day forward…” 1 Samuel 16:11-13.
In chapter 17 we read that through the power of God—as
just a boy David took down goliath with a sling and a rock. He had God
confidence and knew Who resided in him, making him Extraordinary. God continued
to do Extraordinary things in David’s life and he later reigned as king… this
extra ordinary shepherd boy became Extraordinary through the power of God.
I love the story of Esther. Another story of an
extra ordinary girl—a Jewish girl. King Ahasuerus was seeking a queen. His
officers gathered all the beautiful young virgins. Esther, who had lost her
mother and father and was being raised by her Uncle, Mordecai, was among these
beautiful young women gathered to the Kings palace. It says in Esther 2:9, in
reference to Hegai, who was in charge of the women, “And the young woman
pleased him and won his favor.” Hegai then chose to advance Esther. In verse 17
it says, “The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and
favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on
her head and made her queen…”
A plot was being planned against the Jews and
Mordecai overheard the plot. He told Queen Esther of the plot. “For if you keep
silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another
place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have
not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther was an extra ordinary Jewish girl who was
obedient. Queen Esther had won the favor of the King so drastically that she
was able to go to him with the information of the plots against her people and
with the King’s help she saved her people. She became Extraordinary.
I could go on and on with testaments of Gods power
and how He exchanges our ‘extra ordinary’ for Extraordinary. We serve that same
God today.
I don’t know about you… But I want that power in my
life every single day. When Christ resides in us we are powerful beyond our comprehension.
I want to trust like Mary did.
I want to have a God confidence like David did.
I want to live in obedience and grace like Esther did.
We don’t have to live mundane and defeated lives. We
don’t have to be overcome with complacency, depression, and joylessness. We
were made for so much more. We were made to be world changers. We were made to
be representatives of Christ. We were made to be powerful in Christ, to rise up
and out of the darkness to proclaim the power and goodness of God. I don’t want
to remain the same. I don’t want to accept mediocrity in my Christian walk. I
want to KNOW God more and more every day I am on this earth. I want to live a
life that draws others closer to Christ.
I want my daughter to grow and witness a life of
power in Christ. I want to allow God to transform the extra ordinary into
something Extraordinary for His glory.
I desire a constant expectancy in my spirit, almost
as tangible as if I were physically carrying life inside of me waiting to birth
this new life. That is how I want to expect the extra ordinary to grow into
something Extraordinary through Christ.
I challenge you to reject the complacency in your
walk with Christ. I challenge you to get in a quiet place in your mind and
heart and seek Him. Ask Him into every area of your life—not just the easy
places… but the scary and hard to reach places in your heart, mind and
emotions. We all have things we want to lock away and hide—but then those things will always hold us captive. Lay
it down.
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly
beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”
Ephesians 5:20
When God is in it, little is much.
When God is in it, the extra ordinary becomes the
Extraordinary.
I Trust my God, I Trust my God, I Trust my God.
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