High Hopes and Quiet Riverbanks

READ
Acts 16:11-13

CONSIDER
Paul, Silas, and Luke arrive in Philippi, a Roman city. You might expect them to head to the town square or some other bustling center to preach Jesus to the Gentiles. Instead, on the Sabbath, they went looking for a quiet place to pray. Sure enough, they found a small group of women by a riverbank a little ways outside of the city. 

We live in a sensationalist culture. Mountaintop experiences are often the goal. They’re equated with success. “How big is your church? How many people came to your Easter service?” It’s not just church, of course. It’s actually that what’s outside of the church creeps in. We count likes and views and attach self-worth to those numbers, too. 

Sometimes we expect the "holy life" to be like that. The bigger the stage, the wiser the sage. But God often works in powerful ways on small, quiet, riverbanks. 

Obedience isn't about being recognized for doing something for God; it’s about being faithful in the ordinary and trusting God with the results - whatever they are. Paul’s team speaks to a few people by a river just as readily as he would have spoken to a large crowd…just like Jesus. 

When we surrender our will to God, we give up the right to decide what counts as a "big" or "small" assignment. Everything done in love for Him is significant.

REFLECT
Ministry isn’t a label for Sunday morning programs or church events. Well, to be fair, those things are called ministry, but so is doing anything that points people to Jesus. That means every moment is an opportunity for ministry. 

Ministry is your mission and it isn't reserved for one address or one hour a week. Ministry is for the riverbank, the breakroom, the front yard, and the coffee shop. God wants to use your "ordinary" life to do "extraordinary" things. Will you let Him? Will you follow him to a new destination when He says “no” to your original plan? 

PRAY
Holy Spirit, I don’t want to overlook any opportunities you bring my way today. Make me like Paul, Silas, and Luke. Prepare my heart to see how you add the extra to my ordinary and do the extraordinary that only you can. Amen.