We often expect God to speak through a big event, but in Corinth, He spoke through the shared smell of leather and the rhythm of a needle. Paul, exhausted from Athens, finds community not in a synagogue, but at a workbench with Aquila and Priscilla.
Abiding in Christ teaches us that our “tentmaking”—our jobs, errands, and hobbies—is not a distraction from our calling; it is the venue for it. When we are fully available to the person sitting across from us at lunch or the colleague in the next cubicle, we find that God has already prepared a “common ground.”
When I went to work one night at the meteorological office over sixty years ago, my personal life was falling apart. Seeking pleasure in the wrong places had turned into addictions to destructive activities. But a godly man looked beyond my faults and turned our routine workplace into an evangelistic opportunity to express his faith, love, and hope with me. He shared the Gospel and began to cultivate a relationship with me that eventually brought me into the Kingdom of God. His love for God and me changed my life and saved my marriage.
Don’t rush through the mundane tasks of today. Your next great encouragement might be hidden in the shared labor of the present moment.