When I was a child, my Grandma Ruth’s house was dark and disorganized. Piles of papers teetered here and there, and old wood furniture was pushed against the walls. Grandma seemed stressed and not very happy. Her Christianity was legalistic and scary to me.

But fast forward a decade, and she was full of joy. Her house was still disheveled, but it had a brightness to it that welcomed guests. Her anxiety was replaced with thankfulness, and she loved others deeply from the heart. When you were with her, you knew her attention and affection were focused on you. She became a woman known for wise counsel and prayer.

Do you struggle with anxiety? Is your home lacking in joy? Are you living the Christian life out of duty and not delight? My grandmother wasn’t a super-saint. The Holy Spirit used the ordinary means of grace—Bible reading, gathering with the saints, and persevering in suffering—to make her into an extraordinary work of grace. If you’re a believer, you have access to the same Spirit and the same means of grace as Grandma Ruth.

Read the Bible

John Piper picked up his Bible at the recent Cross Conference and said, “You cannot overestimate the importance of this book in your life!” This is because God’s Word gives us all the knowledge we need for trusting the Lord and living the Christian life.

That knowledge is more profound than dos and don’ts. The Spirit bears witness to Jesus in the Bible. In it, we know him. There we see Jesus truly: “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).

Grandma Ruth was transformed over time by her well-worn Bible, the sword of the Spirit. Even with five children and full-time work, she prayed and read her Bible every morning. Her light was often on at night as she wrestled through a difficult passage or worked on memorizing a text.

As she stayed in the Word, her confidence and joy in the Lord increased. She delighted in Scripture because it convinced her of God’s grace and power to fight every sin. Her love for the Bible was evident in the constant way she eagerly spoke to us about what she was learning about God.

Picking up your Bible in the morning may seem unremarkable, but the Spirit makes us more like Jesus as we prayerfully immerse ourselves in God’s Word. Consistent time in Scripture does extraordinary work in our hearts over time.

Gather with the Saints

Transformation into the image of Christ means “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”—the fruit of the Spirit increasing (Gal. 5:22–23). This fruit is cultivated in community.

Consistent time in Scripture does extraordinary work in our hearts over time.

As we hear God’s Word read and preached, and as we pray, sing, and speak the Scripture to one another, the soil of our hearts is nourished. As we serve and care for others and navigate conflict, our vines are pruned. We “keep in step with the Spirit” as we walk the Christian life together (v. 25). His work is a community project.

Church was nonnegotiable with Grandma. She gathered with the saints at every opportunity and was committed to younger women in her church. One woman came to me at grandma’s funeral and said she’d been a struggling young mother until Grandma took her under her wing. Grandma showed her how to prioritize God’s Word and prayer in her life and family. Grandma’s mentoring had made all the difference in her life.

Going to church might seem unexceptional, but the Spirit uses the church in the lives of normal believers to shape them into extraordinary displays of Christ. When we regularly gather with the saints, our focus remains on Jesus and on loving his people.

Persevere in Suffering

Recently, I heard a pastor say, “We graduate from the school of suffering when we enter into glory.” The Spirit ushers us there, and before we arrive, he gives us trials to reorient our hearts toward the things of heaven.

The Christian can rejoice in her suffering, for it “produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Rom. 5:3–4). The Spirit intercedes for us and shows Christ’s power in our weakness as we persevere.

Grandma Ruth persevered through many trials: cancer, poverty, widowhood. Life was often hard, but she steadily increased in joy. When the signs of dementia showed up, she asked for prayer—not for healing but that she’d never forget “her Jesus.” And she never did. Suffering had caused her to treasure Christ above all. She held on to that treasure to the end.

Affliction may seem like something to avoid (and I don’t suggest you go looking for it), but the Spirit uses it to bring the extraordinary fruit of righteousness and peace from our ordinary lives.

Everyday Grace

Sanctification is a work of the Spirit through the day-to-day application of God’s abundant grace in Bible reading, gathering with the saints, and persevering through suffering. Grandma Ruth was transformed into an extraordinary woman by the ordinary work of the Spirit in her life.

She meditated on and memorized God’s Word. She committed herself to faithful church attendance and talked to others about Jesus. She trusted in God’s promises and took her struggles to the Lord. The Spirit replaced her legalistic tendencies with joy as she understood she was deeply loved by the Father and forever united to the Son.

Suffering had caused her to treasure Christ above all. She held on to that treasure to the end.

The same Spirit who worked in my grandmother’s heart dwells in every Christian. He helps us in our weakness and conforms us to Christ’s image so that as our bodies wrinkle and our hair goes gray, “our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).

So take hold of the means of grace, walking by the Spirit, and take comfort that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). You may be ordinary today, but you’ll be an extraordinary work of grace on that day.