It takes almighty grace to take the next step—the next step in devotion, the next step in our studies, the next step in the kitchen, the next step in our duty—when there’s nothing to inspire us and no one to cheer us on. When there’s no vision from God and no enthusiasm, when it’s just the daily routine and the trivial task, it takes almighty grace.
Sometimes, it requires far more of the grace of God to take the next step than it does to preach the gospel. Perhaps at one time we had a clear vision of something God wanted us to accomplish, and we threw ourselves into it with excitement. But now the excitement has waned and we wonder how we’ll keep going. We begin to doubt that the vision will ever be realized. It will be, if we’ll keep working steadily until it is fulfilled. Every Christian has to participate in the essence of the incarnation; we have to bring it down into flesh-and-blood life and work it out through our fingertips. In the long run, what counts for God—and for people—is steady, persevering work in the unseen (2 Corinthians 4:18). The only way to live our lives uncrushed is to live looking to God.
Ask God to keep the eyes of your spirit open to the risen Christ, and it will be impossible for drudgery to crush you. Continually get away from pettiness of mind and thought. Remember Jesus’s example: “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14).
