The Blessing in the Mundane

I don’t know about you, but oftentimes I find myself feeling claustrophobic in the repetition and routine of life. Will I really have to do laundry until I die? Every single day, there will be some sort of dish or cup to wash. My dog will bark until I let him out, almost assuredly while I’m doing something important. How many times a day will I have to yell at my kids to stop fighting?

Insert your own mundane here.

When you really think about it, it can feel like there’s no movement, no growth—like there couldn’t possibly be any patience left. But what if there is movement? What if there is growth? What if not only your patience is being built, but your faith is too?

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” —Galatians 6:9

Let’s take a look at the story of David. His claim to fame is killing a giant, but there was a whole lot of mundane happening long before that moment. Before the spotlight, David was faithful. He lived a repetitive and often lonely life tending his father’s sheep. He faced lions and bears alone, with nothing but his faith and trust in the Lord to see him through.

Little did he know that his skills, strength, courage, and faith were all being formed in the mundane.

As we know, David was anointed to be king, but even after being called to something higher, he went right back to the fields, tending sheep. Back to the ordinary. Back to the unseen. God was still preparing him for what was to come.

Fast forward to the most famous part of the story, David faces Goliath and wins. But how? How did this young boy defeat what was supposed to be the biggest, strongest champion of the Philistine army? God could have made Goliath fall at the mere presence of David, but instead, He chose to use what had been built quietly over time, a slingshot and a faith strengthened in obscurity.

Before the battle, King Saul dressed David in armor, everything a warrior was supposed to need to fight a giant. But as David tried to walk around in the coat of armor and bronze helmet, he knew it wasn’t him. So he took it off and chose his own preparation, a few smooth stones and the slingshot he had used day after day in the fields.

God didn’t call David and then decide to turn him into someone else. He used him exactly as he was—a boy faithful in the mundane, quietly and unknowingly prepared in the fields for a battle he hadn’t yet imagined.

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” —Ephesians 2:10

One day, the thing that feels smallest may be the very thing God uses to bring victory. God builds us in the small moments, the quiet battles, and the mundane we often label as ordinary, or even useless. If you look back over your life at the battles and even the wars you’ve faced, I bet you’ll find preparation you didn’t even realize God was doing, strengthening your faith and equipping you for victory.

Never overlook the mundane. It may be your strongest weapon and your greatest blessing.