Thrilling times and exciting experiences spice up our lives. They become memorable moments that add color to the repetitive ordinary occurrences of our days. And so we order our lives around such extraordinary events. We plan special breaks and vacations that we hope will provide a “deserved” escape from the drudgery of ordinary tasks.
Drudgery—work that is hard, menial, dull, monotonous, or routine. Most of us see our day-to-day, week-to-week, chores and duties as drudgery. They are things we “must” do; though in our minds and hearts 
we would prefer to be doing something else. And in the midst of this drudgery we begin to operate in “auto-pilot”, accomplishing the tasks with the least attempt to perform our best. We simply want to get it over with.
Sadly, such an attitude can easily transfer to the regular grind of Christian living and service. Many of the things required of us by our Lord may actually fall under the category of drudgery (at least from our human perspective). And so our life and ministry devolves into something that is not worthy of our Lord. On this, Oswald Chambers has some words that are worth taking to heart:
“The snare in Christian life is looking for the gilt-edged moments, the thrilling times; there are times when there is no illumination and no thrill, when God’s angel is the routine of drudgery on the level of towels and washing feet. Are we prepared to ‘get a move on’ there? Routine is God’s way of saving us between our times of inspiration. We are not to expect Him to give us His thrilling minutes always” (Our Brilliant Heritage).
“Drudgery is one of the finest tests to determine the genuineness of our character. Drudgery is work that is far removed from anything we think of as ideal work. It is the utterly hard, menial, tiresome, and dirty work. And when we experience it, our spirituality is instantly tested and we will know whether or not we are spiritually genuine” (My Utmost for His Highest).
So it is worth reflecting: Am I able to give to the Lord my best even in the middle of drudgery? Being a “living sacrifice” to the Lord (Romans 12.1) is all about taking my “true and proper worship” into the drudgery of daily life, and there offer my Lord the best that he deserves. As the song goes:
May the moments of our worship overflow along the way
And our hearts between two Sundays be as vibrant as today
Let the praise continue on … in our ordinary day to day.
—Keith Y. Jainga