Some folks are perfectly content with routine, to be ordinary. Some folks find routine stifling.

My seminary roomie, Tommy Phelps, cracked me up when talking about this. We shared the same part-time job – we drove school buses for the Fort Worth Independent School District.

This was Tommy’s litany: “Get up. Go to the bus barn. Pick up the bus. Pick up the kids. Take them to school. Go to school. Pick up the bus. Pick up the kids. Take them home. Go home. Eat and study. Go to bed. Get up. Go to the bus barn. Pick up the bus…”

You get the picture. Our lives can be like laying pipe, or working as a short order cook – lather, rinse, repeat.

This isn’t awful, mind you. But is there more to all this than just doing routine tasks? Are we missing something?

Here’s where I think the temptation comes. I think that often, Satan tempts us to be ordinary. We aren’t awful people. We don’t embrace heinous sins. We are middle-of-the-packers. Good, moral people, churchgoing people, and in the grand cosmic scheme of things, we are honorable Christians. But Satan wants to persuade you that you’re nothing special. He’s really good at that.

And we are barren. We think – “is this IT?” It’s not that we seek earthly acclaim. We like being appreciated, but that doesn’t drive us. We just want to feel, I dunno, significant. Not just to be ordinary.

This got me to thinking about any number of biblical personalities. Many times, they were ordinary folks caught up in extraordinary circumstance. Or, more tellingly, they found themselves in God’s hands. They were made to be significant.

Take the twelve disciples. If I were Jesus, and I was going to select men who would ultimately be responsible for seeing that this fledgling faith not only survived but flourished – I don’t this would have been the group I’d go with. I would have scoured the Chamber of Commerce literature, found myself the best and brightest, and begun recruiting. I’d go after professional people, people with drive and ambition, people who were blue-chip prospects. I’d want sharp people. I wouldn’t want to have guys who liked to be ordinary.

Jesus did no such thing. After an evening of prayer (key point, that), he went after the most unlikely of candidates. Fishermen. Tax collectors. Commoners. And He didn’t have a job description drawn up for each of them. His recruiting speech was pretty basic: “Follow me.”

Doggoned if they didn’t respond to that simple summons. They followed, without trying to straighten themselves out first. They could have remained in their familiar surroundings and predictable jobs. Instead, they left everything behind – jobs, homes, family, friends. Jesus called twelve, graduated eleven, and those knuckleheads turned the world upside down.

Don’t miss this. How like us. In the middle of our routines, when we go about our daily affairs with familiar people, God still reaches out to us. He wants to train us, equip us, change our attitudes, and renovate our souls. In other words, we are NOT to be ordinary.

You may think you are overlooked by everyone else, but you are handpicked by God. You are building a legacy. It may not make you any more significant in the eyes of the world than a potted plant, but you are shaping the kingdom of God. Be ordinary? Hardly.

I sure hope that helps you see your routines in a whole different light. Ancient script from 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NLT) is timely:

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

Feel special. Because you are.

What would it mean to be a pawn in God’s chess game?

That makes it sound like God takes delight in moving us around as it pleases Him.

I never have been much of a chess player, but I do know that pawns can be expendable. They can be sacrificed for the greater good of the overall game.

I won’t go into any detail here, because it’s none of your business, but there was a season in my life when I said aloud, “I don’t know if God’s won or Satan’s won. All I know is that I lost.”

No fun. Nossir.

So if you feel like you are a pawn in God’s chess game, does that mean that you’re caught in events beyond your control, manipulated by God or Satan?

You’re probably way ahead of me at this point. I’m looking at Job again.

Job has been haunting me for weeks.

The scenario is right there in Job 1. You can click on this link if you want a refresher.

This book gets at the guts of some awfully hard questions. As in … why is there evil in the world? Why is there so much pain and suffering? Why do righteous, godly people experience such heartache? The innocent suffer – how can it be?

And so on. Right there in Chapter 1, you witness this devastating account of Job, a godly, righteous, good man, losing it all. And working behind the scenes are God and Satan. Since I’m not a theologian, I won’t get too deep in these weeds, and I’d hate to lead you wrong. At first glance, however, it looks like Job is Ground Zero for some sort of cosmic game between God and Satan.

Gotta tell ya – with my flawed human vision, I sure don’t have any easy answers. I’ve consulted commentaries and drilled deep with this. I’m just bamboozled.

Now, let’s get personal. This is for you and me.

For me to say that you or I are pawns in God’s chess game puts us in Job’s shoes. You may feel that you’re forced into a situation that you would have never chosen for yourself.

That’s not fair, now is it?

I’ll give you my upbeat, positive spin first.

There is a higher way to interpret the sorrows of life rather than evaluating them in the moment. Perhaps the awful trial you’re facing is God’s way of giving you an opportunity to cooperate with Him, serve Him, get insights into His purposes and plans, and serve Him in ways you otherwise couldn’t.

Our own schemes are inadequate, because we’d never willingly choose suffering if there was an alternate path. God wants to do something more significant than what we could come up with on our own.

We can honor God by how we live and die.

Feel better yet? See why you may not be a pawn in God’s chess game?

Yeah, I here ya. “Tony, that sounds great, and I agree, but I’m still a hurtin’ puppy.”

Fact: there are a whole lot of unanswered questions I have. We puny humans want answers. We want the “why’s” dealt with.

I look at what happened to Job in Chapter 1, and I see a lot of innocent folks dying. Why did that have to happen? In this drama between Satan and God, how can you account for this bloodshed?

To even stir the pot some more, consider: Why do some righteous people have such short, tragic lives while nasty, evil people seem to get all the breaks – wealth, long lives, all that?

Or, to get really current, how can you account for the state of our world politically, morally, in health, and in lots of other issues that seem blatantly evil?

I sure don’t have a Sunday School answer for those. Not only does it seem that we might be pawns in God’s chess game – it’s like the planet itself is a chessboard.

That, for starters, is what I don’t know. But here’s what I do know, and this is what gives me comfort, peace, and hope. I want you to experience that, too.

What seems unfair in this life will be made right in eternity.

Read that again.

Understand: there is a day certain when all our problems will be solved and all of our questions will be answered. We’re just living in the “not yet.”

Regarding Satan:

God has given him some degree of freedom. Yikes! I’m not just saying that. I see it when he’s identified as the prince of this world and as the ruler of the kingdom of the air.

Satan can, and does, use the forces of nature, plagues, and wicked people. But – God has already won. He dealt Satan a fatal blow through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Still, Satan is going to work really, really hard in this world in the meantime, spreading lies and deceit. He’ll do it until the End of Days.

So what does that mean for us, those who think we’re pawns in God’s chess game?

We live in a corrupt world. No debate there, right? But if we’re believers, we have an upper hand. While there is huge tension in living here, we are controlled by God’s Spirit. We may struggle with recognizing that, but it’s absolute fact.

Because of the Spirit’s control, we have somewhere to put our absolute trust. Move in close, class. I’m fixin’ to help somebody.

We trust God. We trust in things eternal. Things like justice, mercy, and love.

Conversely, we do not trust in the temporary things of this world – things like success, wealth, fame, or, God forbid, politics, personalities, and the state of the things we see.

You still paying attention? I mean what I’m saying. 

Want more security, hope, and comfort? Here’s ancient script – Ephesians 6:12:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

And Philippians 3:20:

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

For you and me both, we just need to quit paying lame lip service to the eternal truths of God and making them a reality as we look at the world around us.

If you feel like a pawn in God’s chess game, remember: He can see the whole board. We just see the square we’re perched on.

Be blessed.

Chill. I think you need to relax.

It’s because you find yourself in knots way too frequently. On really bad days, you can’t even suck in a decent breath. You have this sense of constriction, of the world closing in on you.

This is unpleasant (see my gift of understatement working here?)

Temperamentally, I’m not given to anxiety. Depression, well, yeah. But to spend my days bent out of shape? Nope. I just don’t find that much to get all agitated about.

I’ll tell you what is my kryptonite is along these lines. I feel that there are way too many times when I’ve wandered away from God. It isn’t that I’ve turned my back on the faith. Nothing like that. It’s rather an aimless drift, a sense of anchorlessness, of knowing where I should be and what I should be doing, and knowing that I’m not there.

I’m I hard on myself? Oh heck yeah. I can’t bear the thought of God being disappointed in me. I don’t want to let Him down. I want to please Him, because He’s daddy.

How about you? What’s your kryptonite?

• You second guess your motives and your actions, wondering in hindsight if you handled situations right.
• You have this sense of aimlessness.
• You wonder if you’re fulfilling your purpose in life.
• Heck, you’re trying to figure out what your purpose is.
• You feel indecisive and wishy-washy.
• You wonder if you’re adequately meeting the needs of those you care about.
• You can’t focus or stay on task because you’re afraid of failure.

If you’re a person of faith, then these issues are even more acute. After all, you are supposed to be standing on the Solid Rock. You’re supposed to be steadfast and unwavering. You absolutely shouldn’t be stressed … as you often say, “God’s got this!”

Of course He does. Unquestionably. Then why isn’t that a reality for you? Why is anxiety such an integral part of your temperament?

Guess what. I think you need to relax. You are just a fragile human being, who changes as much as the weather.

That is not a weakness. It’s just the acknowledgement of a reality. We are hard-wired to adapt to different circumstances and environments. We are going to have good days and bad days. Maybe even good hours and bad hours. All sorts of factors play into our shifting moods and feelings.

There are some people, perhaps, that are so steadfast that nothing deters them from their forward march. They are invincible. Aspire to that, if you will. I do think that’s attainable. But don’t beat yourself up if you don’t hit your marks every time.

That is, of course, not an excuse to be mediocre and ordinary. There’s no honor in that. I’m just pointing out that you have to be self-forgiving. And repentant – if you habitually screw up in one area, that is NOT a good life plan.

Beware of setting some ridiculous standards for yourself. Aim high, certainly. Don’t tolerate known sin in your life. Don’t be proud of being average. But keep it real.

I’m afraid many of us have been tricked by the Enemy into judging our own flesh.

In other words, we view ourselves through human eyes. I can assure you, that’s a no-fail way to feel anxious because you’re convinced that you will never amount to anything.

Do not buy into that lie. Satan knows that if he can get us to focus on ourselves with all our frailties, we’ve done his work for him. He loves to see us sidelined, convinced that we are losers, committed to a life distant and aloof from God.

Well now, grasp this:

Your faith is based on His grace and not your feelings.

The pressure is off. You don’t have to perform to be right with God. What is inherent in you that makes you all that special anyway? We are all frail creatures of dust. But because God  is gracious beyond human understanding,  He loves us just the way we are. There’s not anything you can do to make yourself any more loved by Him.

Remember, your feelings will change. You’ll have those days when you feel like a leaf in the wind.

In spite of how you feel, God does indeed have you in His grip. That’s where faith comes in – you anchor yourself in the reality of who He is and what He’s done. Grace covers all your anxiety, all your uncertainty, all your questioning, and all your confusion. He understands. Oh yes, He does.

I think you need to relax.