Exodus 4:20

Then Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

A friend of mine in New York City is quite, an artist. He keeps his eyes peeled on the streets of Manhattan for broken pieces of glass—pop bottles, smashed tail lights, even Vicks jars. He takes these worthless pieces of junk home, washes them and without reshaping them in any way, turns them into lovely stained glass mosaics of biblical scenes. Under his touch, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. What was of little value is now a thing of incredible beauty.

God does the same thing. His transforming power can take a shepherd’s staff and make it the “rod of God.” An ordinary shaft of wood becomes an extraordinary instrument to call forth plagues (Exodus 9:28), divide seas (14:16) and bring forth water from a rock (17:5-6).

The same is true for our lives. Under God’s touch we become a “new creation” in
Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)—not simply something made over or improved, but a totally new creature with supernatural abilities. When we receive Christ as our Savior, an extraordinary change begins to take place. No matter how ordinary we may consider our lives, God is able to create an extraordinary work of art out of us.

If you consider yourself ordinary, rejoice! You’re just the kind of person God loves to use. He took ordinary fishermen and made them the pillars of the early Church. Today He empowers ordinary farmers, factory workers and housewives and makes them messengers of the Good News. With God, the ordinary is always extraordinary. Give thanks that you are an extraordinary person in Christ, and live above the ordinary.

GOD IS THE “EXTRA” IN THE EXTRAORDINARY.

WOODROW KROLL