How can we find joy in the mundane and ordinary aspects of life?

Dr. John Snyder suggests that when we belong to God, all of life belongs to Him and every task we do can be set apart to Him and can be a part of exalting Him. He encourages us to go beyond thinking of religious activities when we delight in God and to include everyday activities that may not seem spiritual or religious.

Dr. Snyder refers to Zechariah's prophecy in chapter 14, verses 20 and 21, where the prophet talks about the coming rescue and the work of God, which is ultimately fulfilled in the work of Christ. The symbolic picture of bells on horses and cooking pots in the Lord's house conveys that when we belong to God, everything in our lives can be holy to Him. Dr. Snyder emphasizes that this means that even the mundane tasks of life, such as schoolwork, chores, or talking to a neighbor, can be a part of exalting and delighting in Him.

When we belong to God, we can find joy in everything we do because it is all set apart to Him. Dr. Snyder encourages us to see every little task in our lives as an opportunity to exalt God and to delight in Him. As we set our hearts on Him, even the most ordinary aspects of our lives can become holy and bring us joy.

In Colossians 3:23-24, Paul reminds us that "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."  

When we think about living for the glory of God and delighting in Him, we want to go beyond just thinking of religious things. So we do delight in God, and we do delight in the things of God, and that does include what we generally feel falls into the category of spiritual or religious activities, but most of life is not religious. Most of life doesn't look very spiritual. So we want to include what we would think of as the mundane, the everyday activities. Think of what the prophet Zechariah said in his last two verses of his prophecy.

It's chapter 14 verse 20 and 21. He talks about, he's talking about the coming rescue and you know in the work of God and of course we see this ultimately fulfilled in the work of Christ it changes he brings to the Christian life it says this in that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses Holy to the Lord and the cooking pots in the Lord's house will be like the bowls before the altar every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts and all whose sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them and there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts in that day." So, a very symbolic picture. But what I want us to take away from it is this. When we belong to Him, Then all of life belongs to him. And that is a wonderful thing because that means every little task we do, whether it's for school, or chasing the kids, or mowing the lawn, or prayer, or talking to a neighbor, or going to a funeral home, it can all be holy to the Lord.

That is, it can all be set apart to Him. It can all be a part of exalting Him. It can all be a part of delighting in Him. I love to live for my King, even in the very specific mundane things. And Zechariah says, when God rescues us, in that day, it's like the pots and pans in our kitchen are as holy as the special utensils in the temple.

And even the harness and the bells on the harness of a horse, holiness is written there. We would say today even the steering wheel on my car, holiness to the Lord is written on it. Everything can now be brought into living for Him.