Finding God in the Ordinary

by Pierce Taylor Hibbs

We tend to look for God in the grand and spectacular, but most of our lives are filled with ordinary moments and drinking coffee, reading a book, driving to work. Can we find God in the banalities of everyday life? In Finding God in the Ordinary, the author shows that we can, and that we must. Our world is not an ordinary world. Because it was spoken into being and maintained by the word of God's power (Heb 1:3), everything around us is always revealing the nature and character of the triune God. Our world is extraordinarily ordinary, always calling our attention to the God of glory and his work in the commonplace. ""I loved this short book by Pierce Taylor Hibbs on finding God in the ordinary. It is Scriptural, wise, and beautifully written. Reformed theologians are not supposed to write natural theologies, but the Bible itself says that God is clearly revealed in the creation, and that means not only in the big things like the skies and the mountains, but also in small things, like my morning cup of coffee. This book will help you to see God everywhere, for that is where he is."" --John M. Frame, author of Nature's Case for God ""This book is a tremendous stimulus to seeing the world as God would have us see it, and interacting with the world as God would have us interact. It helps us by showing what was always there, God's presence in the ordinary. Creative, illuminating, and godly."" --Vern S. Poythress, author of Knowing and the Trinity ""The meditations upon life's commonplaces that Pierce Taylor Hibbs has crafted in this remarkable volume are Dillard-like in their penetrating observations of creation, and Hopkins-like in their 'Glory be to God for dappled things' celebration of the Creator's work. And more, because Hibbs' meditations are grounded in a robust, polychrome doctrine of the Holy Trinity, they help us to see the work of the three-personed God in all of life--the extraordinary ordinary of our own lives."" --R. Kent Hughes, author of Disciplines of a Godly Man ""In this precious volume Pierce Hibbs has done what few can achieve. These pages credibly combine the eye of a keen observer of the world around with statements about God's nature and purposes. Putting it that way sounds a bit grandiose, for the book is both playful and lyrical, at times overflowing into poetry. . . . Interspersed are Hibbs's insights into language, which is his great specialty. This is a book I would give to many people, believers or not, as it would introduce them to our God, whom they would meet in the ordinary."" --William Edgar, author of Created and Creating ""Pierce has a contagious, child-like sense of wonder in the everyday moments and opportunities so many of us miss, leading to theological and worshipful reflection of God and all his glory. Read this book devotionally to regain your sense of awe and connect it to your sense of God's presence in the world he created."" --Aimee Byrd, author of Theological Fitness Pierce Taylor Hibbs serves as the Associate Director of the Theological English department at Westminster Theology Seminary. He is the author of The Trinity, Language, and Human Behavior (2018) and The Speaking Trinity & His Worded World (2019). He writes regularly at wordsfortheologians.org.

Genres: Christian, Theology

90 pages, Hardcover

Published September 19, 2018

About the author

Pierce Taylor Hibbs is a wordsmith who builds things to bring readers closer to God. He's the award-winning author of Theological English, and has also written more popular works on theology such as Finding God in the Ordinary, The Speaking Trinity, and Struck Down but Not Destroyed: Living Faithfully with Anxiety. Download free ebooks and resources from piercetaylorhibbs.com.

Reviews

[Lynnette Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pierce Taylor Hibbs beautifully depicts how God can be seen in the ordinary things in life. It truly inspires me to look at everyday moments in a new light.

[Saul W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theologian touches grass (theologically) (2018, colorized).

[Hobart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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In the greatness of God, the smallest of things is given tremendous weight.

Hibbs, the associate director of the Theological English Department at Westminster Theological Seminary, has given us a great collection of thirteen essays (semi-inspired by an interview Hibbs heard with Karl Ove Knausgard on NPR but from a very different perspective) based on that idea. As you can guess from the title, Hibbs looks at the minutiae of life and sees how it testifies to the Triune God of the Christian Scriptures.

Some of the everyday, ordinary, common things that he muses on include:

* dust particles
* his son's laugh
* swirling coffee
* light
* wind
* shadows
* falling snow

Not your everyday subjects for short essays—particularly not from a theologian, are they? From these everyday things, Hibbs goes on to mediate and wax lyrically on God's nature, being, truth, care, light, providence, and grace (and other things). These are not theological treatises, but musings on small things around him. Yes, they are theologically-inclined and theologically-informed (and he slips in enough nuggets to make me want to check out his other work). I can't think of anything else to compare it to, which annoys me, because it'd help explain the volume.

I wondered from time to time if he was going to dance close to pantheism, but he never got that close, really. But he was clearly aware of the hazard, and addressed it in his Epilogue.

The prose is frequently poetic (and there are the occasional bits of actual verse), and gorgeously written. It's not often that you read theologically-inclined books that possess beautiful language—the ideas are often wonderful, sure, but the language typically fails to live up to it. Not Hibbs—he knows how to phrase things to make an impression, not just impart ideas.

Not only are these essays well-written and thought-provoking, they ought to train the reader to start to find God in the ordinary around them—which is probably the best use of the book. It's a little on the thin side, honestly, but I don't know if you could read more than this in a sitting (if you manage to only do one sitting of it) without it losing some power. An interview I heard with him seemed to suggest there might be further collections like this, if there are, I will jump on them. Recommended.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Do not mistake the sunlight for sunlight, or the trees for trees. Do not mistake wind for wind, or sound for sound. Do not mistake the ordinary for the ordinary. In this world, there is no such thing as the ordinary. God is present here. Everywhere we look are testaments to divine presence”

Not what I expected, but enjoyable still. A series of the author’s observations about where he sees God in the ordinary. Less about your seeing God and more about seeing where the author has seen Him. A bit off-putting at first but I was mostly won over by the end.

[Mark Seeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful little book of meditations about the phenomena of creation. There is nothing ordinary in God's world. This was a good read in light of an earlier book I read by Gerald McDermott, Everyday Glory. They pair well together.

Hibbs helps the reader to open his eyes to look past the mundane stuff of earth to discover the marvelous revelation of God in the world around him from shadows to starlings to thumbs. We are interpreters of a highly personal God revealed world.

[Caroline Liberatore-Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book I've been searching for. I'm obsessed with the idea of God being reflected in all things, and seeing Him in every day beauty. The dilemma here has often been where does biblical truth end and Pantheism start... This book was IT, and overflowing with rich truth and insights. I also loves the special attention to the role of language and how it relates to the Trinity... such a fascinating idea that I want to study more!

[Caleb Doxsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

These essays were great reflections from every day experiences. The author does a wonderful job of connecting deep theology with ordinary life and models a deliberate, meditative style of reflection we all too often fail to do in our busy, harried world of endless distractions. It's good to take a step back and ponder that cup of coffee :).

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This world is a treasure chest beneath our feet; we tread over it thoughtlessly."

Given to me by a friend, this little book has been a timely gift God has used to awaken my senses, heart, and mind to His revealed presence in all things. Wendell Berry-esque, infused with slightly philosophical-poetical musings, but all done in a heart of love for the triune God. Beautiful.

[Anne Devermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the epilogue first?

This book was a great encouragement to meditate,live in God's presence.
Yet though I knew the author to be faithful to Scripture I had questions and uneasiness at many points. These are answered,quelled as I read the epilogue . Will plan to reread this book again soon

[Peter Mahaffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but deeply insightful. Hibbs will make you see that our world is still enchanted as long as we're able to see that there's a personal triune God active and present in it all.

[Joy O’Toole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Find my review here: https://joylotoole.com/2019/06/06/fin...

[Carin · Rating 5 out of 5]

a sweet little book used as a devotional last summer.