Faith

It’s OK to Be Ordinary

Michelle Lesley

Originally published January 16, 2013

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Titus 2:3-5

Love our husbands and children.

Be self-controlled, pure, and kind.

Work at home.

Be submissive to our own husbands.

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In other words: ordinary. 

I didn’t see anything in there about changing the world or living out great big enormous dreams, did you? I think, often, as 21st century Christian women, the evangelical culture can make us feel like we are failures if we don’t have some sort of huge ministry or preach the gospel on the street corner every day. In Titus’ day that sort of thing would have been unbecoming for women. In our culture, women have more opportunities to be involved in various ministries than back then, but we have to remember that God calls us to faithfully serve Him in whatever life circumstances He has put us in. And He has not called the vast majority of us to be ministry superstars or Christian celebrities.

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He has called most of us to be ordinary.

Staying home and pouring the gospel into our families or being a gospel influence to others at work or teaching Sunday school or sharing the gospel through volunteer work, and so on, though it may not amount to much in the world’s eyes, is success and faithfulness in God’s eyes. And that’s all that matters.

You’re not failing God if you’re ordinary.

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9 thoughts on “It’s OK to Be Ordinary”

  1. I read this post today, January 15, 2025, and was again so thankful to the Lord for His faithfulness to me. My first introduction to “Michelle Lesley” was reading an article where you laid out the problems with Beth Moore. At the time, I had been hearing and reading rumblings about how she wasn’t sound and had been wondering the same myself. I had been a follower of hers for years. I wondered if the comments were fair or not. Similarly, after Ravi Zacharias passed away articles about his credibility came out, at first I didn’t read or believe them. Your article was a wake up call to me. Thank you!! My husband and I were in a Charismatic church for 42 years. (Feel free to question our discernment!) Many of those years, my husband disagreed and questioned practices, and would not participate in most. Tongues, deliverance, prophecy to name a few. Most of this time was pre – Internet. There just wasn’t a lot of information about this movement or the people leaving it and why. Then our oldest son introduced us to Reformed theology. John MacArthur, RC Sproul, the Puritans, and many others were our food as we realized more and more that we weren’t getting our food from the sermons at church. Fast forward to today and we have been in a solid church for three and a half years and continue to be thankful for God’s mercy to us. Your ministry, Chris Roseborough, Steve Kozar, Costi Hunn,Dawn Hill , Doreen Virtue,along with many others helped us immensely to understand what we came out of.

    As I read the post on X this morning about it being okay to be ordinary, I wanted to thank you for what you do. It made a difference in my life and helped me make the final break from Beth Moore. Three and a half years ago we left the church that we had attended for 42 years. My husband had been an elder for 11 years trying to work for change from within without much lasting progress. We have nine adult children. Three of whom are not walking with the Lord, four that are in sound biblical churches, and two of my daughters with their families that are still in the church that we left. Our leaving caused great pain within our relationship with those still there and I am thankful that since that time things have improved although they still continue to believe that we were wrong and continue to be errant theology.

    Just our story here. I know there are so many others. A few months ago a couple came to our church coming out of a similar situation. I’m so thankful for the discernment ministries and the Internet that has enabled these platforms. It would have made a big difference in the early eighties ☺️

    Again, thank you. I am so thankful to be ordinary and content in the good works that He prepared in advance for my life.

    Blessings, Cathy Thomas

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    1. Cathy- Thank you so much for taking the time to share this encouraging word! I had to go get the Kleenex for this one.🥲 It is my joy to have played a small part in God’s work in your heart. I don’t question the discernment of anyone who comes out of false teaching and into sound doctrine! God, in His sovereign and good wisdom, just chooses to take longer to open the eyes of some than others. I rejoice with you over the good work He has done in your life. Keep praying for those wayward children. If God can bring you out, He can bring them out, too.♥️

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  2. Amen! Couldn’t agree more.
    I came out of the hyper charismatic movement and heard on a regular basis I was called to be a WORLD CHANGER! And while I was trying to figure out what that practically looked like in my life, I was a wife with two children. Charismatic leaders made you feel like you should be more than that. So I drug my kids to all these events and conferences so I could find my purpose, my ministry and my destiny!
    Now I see that all those things I was searching for were right in front of me. My sweet family.

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  3. As a mother to only one, who has special needs, my life can feel very meaningless at times. I homeschoool him and our days run together so much I sometimes don’t even know the date or day. But God has sovereignly put me here. There is purpose in this quiet life. It is humbling to be “ordinary” in a world that says you must be more than just a wife and mother. Thank you for the reminder.

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  4. thank you for the simple reminders in this article. So thankful Gods word is clear and that He uses each of us to encourage one another in the truth. Thank you Michelle.

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