A wise man once said “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is God”, and I agree. 

As a believer, you are not regular. You were regular before Christ, but after accepting Him, you have received what makes you special, the Holy Ghost. It should make us humble, to acknowledge the transforming power of God in man. God put His Spirit, the entire fullness of His power in dust structures called man (Gen 2:7; Acts 15:8). We are ordinary without Him. He puts the “extra” in our “ordinary”. 

God puts the “extra” in our “ordinary”

Faith + Blog

Before you see yourself as incapable, remember that you have much more on your inside. The Holy Spirit within a believer is that believer’s advantage (Jdg. 3:10; Isa. 11:2). Moses is a good case study for this topic. This is a man who once lived as royalty in a kingdom that enslaved his people. He was a stammerer who later became a murderer, something close to an outcast. He was regular, nothing special about him. Yet God was calling him to lead His people out of slavery. He gave excuses but thank God he later said yes. 

He saw himself as ordinary, which is quite right, but he was ignoring the greater picture. It was not him at work but God. God was putting the extra. We sometimes shy away from God’s will because we feel we are too small or too “ordinary” for it. This is what God is saying; “it is not about you, this is about me”. Acknowledging the fact that it is God’s hand over our lives that makes the difference can be much harder when everything we do or achieve is within our capability or reach. (Exo. 2-12)

David is an example of a person who didn’t see himself as regular. He understood that he was just a helpless man but knew that he had something (Someone) that made him more. When he offered to go up against Goliath, people probably doubted him. I mean, a 17year old shepherd going against a seasoned giant-like warrior –who, by the way, had terrorized the army of Israel for 40 days. Others were seeing themselves through the lens of “regular”. David saw himself through the lens of “different”. He found it outrageous that an “uncircumcised Philistine” could dare to torment a people who had God in their midst. (1Sam. 17)

For many of us, maybe what is holding us back from doing God’s will or getting that deliverance we so desperately need is the fact we are still seeing ourselves as regular. We are okay with having God as our Master and Father but we draw the line at seeing Him as our advantage. Those who become the greatest vessels or instruments in God’s hands are those who see themselves as ordinary vessels who God makes extraordinary. 

“I am nothing” is different from “I am nothing without you Lord”. “I am ordinary” is different from “Jesus you make me special”. “I can’t” and “I can’t but Holy Spirit you’re my advantage” are two different statements. The former depicts a write-off but the latter displays dependence on God, it displays our reliance on Him. It shows that we acknowledge that God is the “extra” in our “ordinary”. 

This is not to make us proud or to begin to see ourselves as more than we are. No. It is rather a wake-up call to our reality. It is God who makes us special. Stop seeing yourself as regular. Calling yourself regular is selling yourself short of who God has called you to be. It is rejecting God’s grace over your life. God has called you different, holy, and set apart. (1 Pet. 2:9)

The key to truly living as the extraordinary is your commitment to God. He doesn’t look for the perfect people. He takes broken vessels and makes them vessels unto honor, provided they can acknowledge Him. Even if God has put something special in you, it is your commitment to Him that will cause it to manifest in you. 

Prayer: Dear Jesus, I thank you for making me special. I thank you because by your grace, I am more than regular and by that grace, I will continue to do the extraordinary. Amen.