God Forms Us Most on Monday Mornings

Most of us don’t wake up on Monday mornings, smile, and exclaim, “What a great time to be alive!” We’re hit with stress, time crunches, deadlines, kids, emails, or anything that makes us want to rip our hair out.

But we’re faced with bigger things too. And when we follow God and then run into all these obstacles, not only does it demoralize, drain, and distract us, but it also causes a small crisis of faith.

What if we heard God wrong? What if we’re doing it wrong?

Our culture doesn’t help because everything in it points to a faulty idea that a good life, the right life, is a succession of big moments – mountaintop to mountaintop. But our lives aren’t like that.

What if Monday morning isn’t an obstacle to God’s call, but part of it? What if it’s not opposing us, but shaping us? What if it’s not a sign of getting the call wrong, but getting it right?

At the end of Genesis 12 and into 13, there’s a lot going on. This was after God’s great call and promise a few verses before.
Leave your country, go to a land I will show you.

• I will make you a great nation, I will bless you.
• Who you bless, I will bless, who you curse, I will curse.
• You’ll make a huge impact, and all people on earth will be blessed because of you.

Who wouldn’t want this? Even if there’s risk and uncertainty, we’d all probably take the chance. So, Abram gets up, heeds the call, and takes the big step. Then… Monday morning comes.
Famine hits the land.

• Moses lies.
• They bounce from place to place.
• Conflict breaks out close to home.

There are the wide-open moments where we have a sense of the grand design of things, the big picture:
When you find the love of your life.

• The first time you hold your children.
• When your vision makes a difference.
• Those sacred moments at the end of something and the beginning of something else.
• When you feel connected to something or someone.

But a lot of our lives are lived in the “Monday morning:”

• Putting out the latest fire.
• Dealing with the result of cutting corners.
• Getting kids out the door.
• Navigating uncertainty.

In all of these moments, the bigger picture of calling and purpose gets lost. It doesn’t seem applicable or relevant. There’s no time or energy for it. It’s the last thing on your mind.

What if God is Building You?
God uses Monday mornings to build something in you that you need for the calling. The question isn’t, “What is God saying?” The question is, “What are you going to do now?”

Romans 5
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us.

We hear or feel God's call. The big moments. That’s hope. But right next to it is something we don’t expect. Suffering.

This speaks to the physical suffering of following the call of Jesus. But suffering is more basic than that. It’s when our expectations for how we thought things were going to go aren’t met. It’s obstacles, frustrations, distractions, things that feel physical, emotional, or even spiritual. At the moment, we have a choice – become cynical or fight for hope.

But then Paul says something we don’t expect, and that’s how suffering, when we’re grappling with the aftermath of a call, leads us somewhere.

These are things that we need to live out the call of God, and they’re things we don’t develop any other way. They’re not big moments, they’re becoming (and staying) faithful through thousands of small decisions.

How Do We Live it Out?
We have to develop a cold-blooded commitment to God's calls in our lives. On the day you’re not feeling it as much as on the day when you are, keep moving. On your worst day as much as your best day, keep moving. During opposition, suffering, uncertainty, or setbacks, keep moving. On Monday as much as Sunday, keep moving.

We want revelation, God gives repetition. Our problem isn’t that God hasn’t spoken, it’s that we haven’t built Monday around what He said on Sunday.

Monday mornings aren’t obstacles or missteps, they’re what makes the call itself possible. Give oxygen to the fact that this is hard.

It’s not about one great moment – one vacation, trip, experience, new toy, or big thing. We aren’t formed by a moment, but by the presence, repetition, and faithfulness. Keep showing up in the small things and remember the importance of your Monday mornings.