day eight

It’s easy to imagine God at work somewhere else, remaking the world. Harder to believe He longs to move through you, here and now, in this ordinary ground. The street you walk. The team you carry. The gifts you keep doubting. None of these are wasted. God does not script every detail of our days, yet He has shaped you with care and placed His Spirit within you. Your life is a thread of consequence, woven into His Kingdom story. Good works have been prepared, not generic, but ones that bear your shape.

And this was the way of Jesus. He lived the same kind of days we live: walking roads, sharing meals, facing interruptions. But He didn’t rush through them trying to prove His worth, or try to operate out of someone else’s shape. He already knew He was the beloved Son. Out of that security, He moved with a quiet authority, awake to the Father’s timing and presence. That same Spirit is in you. And for you too, the invitation is not to hustle harder or to prove you measure up, but to live more awake. To trust that who you are, your particular shape—your wiring, your empathy, your story, your presence—has already been received and blessed by God.

DAILY READINGS

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
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8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
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DEEPER

When Paul says in Colossians that “in Him all things hold together,” he’s not just making a cosmic claim — he’s grounding a way of seeing the world. To live in Christ is to learn to perceive reality differently: to see the fingerprints of Jesus not only in creation, but in the fragile connections between people, in the persistence of hope against despair, in the quiet endurance of faith when circumstances shake. This isn’t about straining to manufacture meaning, but about recognising that the risen Christ is actively sustaining the very world you walk through.

Ephesians adds another layer: “You are His workmanship.” The word poiēma carries artistry, but it also implies purpose. A poem doesn’t exist in the abstract; it’s meant to be spoken aloud, to land in the ears and hearts of others. In the same way, you are not simply “made well.” You are made to express something of God’s beauty and truth into the world around you. That’s not just comfort; it’s calling.

Discernment, then, is not simply “figuring out what God wants me to do.” It is living with an awareness of where Christ is already at work and recognising that He has placed His Spirit within you for those very moments. It’s about tuning in to the Kingdom breaking in — in the opportunities in front of you, the relationships you carry, the passions and skills He’s entrusted to you — and asking: How might I join in with what God is already doing here? Discernment is about stepping into alignment with the Spirit’s movement, not hesitantly but with the confidence that your life, as it truly is, can become a vessel of Kingdom power and love.

Think of it like light through stained glass. The light is Christ’s. But the colours and angles, the way it falls into the room, that’s through your unique shape. Without your panel in place, something of His radiance would be missing.

So pay attention to the nudges that keep returning. These are not random. They are the Spirit moving through your life, shaping your days into mission. You don’t need to chase another calling. You don’t need to become someone else. You are already a vessel of His presence. Simply show up as yourself, keep in step with Him, and the Kingdom will not be far away.

RESPOND

Where this week have I overlooked that God may want to work through me in a way no one else can? How might the Spirit be inviting me to bring the particular mix of story, gifts, and perspective I carry into the space I’m already in?

PRAYER

Jesus, thank You that You shaped me with care and intention. Teach me to trust that how I am made can carry Your presence. Show me the moments where my unique wiring is a gift for others, and give me courage to step into them with You.

Also pray now for one everyday conversation to move toward Jesus, or for someone to ask you a curious question about your faith this week.

ACTIVATE

Take ten minutes to walk through your neighbourhood or workplace asking: “Spirit, what are You drawing my attention to?” Write down one thing you notice that you might usually overlook. Treat it as an invitation, not a coincidence.