Midweek Devotional
Faith in the Middle
Joshua • Judges • Ruth
Scripture: Joshua 24:15
Reflection: Have you ever felt ordinary? Let’s be honest most of life isn’t made up of mountaintop moments. It’s alarms that go off too early. Meetings that could have been emails.
Laundry that somehow multiplies overnight. And if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably stood in front of the refrigerator wondering why you opened it in the first place. So yes most of life does feel pretty ordinary. That’s exactly where we are this week. After the miracles of the Exodus and after forty years in the wilderness, Israel finally enters the Promised Land. You would think the exciting part is over. But Joshua, Judges, and Ruth remind us that following God isn’t about living for the extraordinary moments. It’s about being faithful in the ordinary ones. Joshua challenged Israel in Joshua 24:15, “Choose this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Friends, Joshua doesn’t say choose when it’s convenient or when life is easy. He just said, “Choose.” Then comes the book of Judges, where people slowly drift away from God and not because they woke up one morning determined to rebel, but because they stopped choosing Him one ordinary day at a time. That’s a good reminder for us. Most people don’t drift from Jesus overnight. They drift one missed prayer at a time, one missed Sunday or one busy season. Until one day they wonder how they got so far away. But then comes Ruth. An ordinary widow, an ordinary field and an ordinary act of faithfulness. And God uses her ordinary life to change history and that’s encouraging because chances are you won’t part a Red Sea this week. But you can encourage someone, you can forgive someone. Pray for, serve or love someone. And you never know who is watching. Naomi had no idea that her faithful witness would lead Ruth to the God of Israel. Friends, your kindness, your patience, your faith, our story may become someone else’s evidence that Jesus is real. So don’t underestimate an ordinary Wednesday because God has been doing extraordinary things through ordinary people for a very long time.
Consider This:
Where have you seen God’s fingerprints in you life lately?
God doesn’t need extraordinary people. He just needs faithful people to say yes.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for reminding me that You don’t just work on mountaintops, you work in kitchens, offices, classrooms, neighborhoods, and ordinary moments. Help me to recognize Your fingerprints on my own story and to trust You with the small decisions that shape my life. Keep me from drifting when life gets busy and make my faith something others can see, not because I’m perfect, but because You are faithful. Use my ordinary life to point someone toward Your extraordinary grace. Today I choose You. Amen