Isn’t it incredible to think God had a plan to save the world, and that plan would show up as an unwed pregnancy to a very ordinary girl? Although Mary knew something miraculous had happened, no one else could see what God was doing within her. And he left it that way. God could have spoken in a loud thundering voice announcing to the whole earth the miraculous pregnancy and his unfolding plan of salvation, but he didn’t. He let people look. He let people wonder. He let many be totally wrong in their assumptions as he worked.

Isn’t it amazing to think God himself would come to this Earth and he wouldn’t do it with a powerful display for all to see, he would come as a baby born in hardship and seemingly bad planning. He didn’t first build a temple for his welcome, he didn’t make it easy in any way. God showed up as a helpless baby during a roadtrip with nowhere to stay along the way.

God works in the mysterious, but I’m not talking about the awe inspiring mysterious, I’m talking about the easily overlooked mysterious. The hidden and the unseen… The hardship and the lack… The totally questionable things that make you shake your head and wonder where he is… The too little, too late … this is where I find God on the scene.

Where is God working in your life? Where is he doing his miraculous work? Oh he’s in every detail and you likely aren’t even aware. That’s because this is the God who comes to save the world through a secret and hidden pregnancy and a baby placed in a manger. Our God is a God who works in the ordinary to do something extraordinary.

Right now in your life, you have something ordinary. It seems to be nothing special at all. But this is exactly where God will work to do something extraordinary. Right here where things are hard and difficulty is your every day reality, God is doing something. And you won’t see it coming. You likely won’t be aware of the unfolding, but God is on the scene.

God starts with small things. He grows from within and builds from the foundation. He is patient in his work and uses every step for a purpose.

Jesus’ entire life on this Earth was walked on foot. He worked as a carpenter. He slept on boats. He had close friends he shared his days with. He cooked fish on the bank and showed up for weddings. God didn’t set his son apart to only do big extraordinary things. He sent the savior of the world here as a baby born like all other babies, as a man with a day job and no car, as an ordinary human being in sandals. And this is how God did his greatest work.

The ordinary becomes extraordinary.

So don’t miss it my friend, this is how he will do his greatest work in you too. In the ordinary. In the small places you may have been missing before.

We’re expecting a full grown miracle to change things in our lives, but God starts the miracle with an 8 pound baby. His work in your life begins the same way all other things show up. Small. Unimpressive. Ordinary.

What could happen in your life if you nurture this seemingly ordinary thing God started? Well it could become absolutely extraordinary. It could grow into more than you ever imagined.

Zechariah 4: 10 “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”

God isn’t looking for some extraordinary person to come along and do great things. He’s looking for ordinary people to nurture what started small and help it grow big.

What if in the new year God isn’t going to start anything new at all in you. He’s not preparing to plant new seeds, he’s expecting you to care for what has already been planted. His plan is to grow what he already started in you. He will work in your current circumstances and if you’re not tuned in to his spirit, you will miss the unfolding of the extraordinary. He’s here. He’s working. It’s happening. It’s mysterious … not mysterious magical, mysterious ordinary. This is the ordinary becoming extraordinary.

The small things growing bigger. The becoming.

These are the small beginnings and what it could become your mind cannot even imagine. The Lord is happy to see the work begin because he knows the potential it holds. Will you be faithful to let it grow? Can you be trusted with the ordinary because this is where God chooses to grow the extraordinary.