THE LINC COLLECTIVE

1. Scriptures
Luke 8:1–3; Luke 24:9–10; Proverbs 16:3; Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 3:6–9; Philippians 2:3–4; Romans 12:1–2; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 3:20

2. Blog Post

Hidden in the opening verses of Luke 8 are two names most people pass over quickly: Joanna and Susanna. They are not surrounded by dramatic detail. They do not receive long biographies. They do not preach sermons, part seas, call down fire, or write epistles. Yet Luke, the doctor, the careful historian, the one who loved showing how heaven moves through ordinary people, makes sure their names are written into the story of Jesus.

They were women who had encountered the healing, delivering, restoring grace of God. Luke tells us that some of the women following Jesus had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Mary Magdalene had been delivered from seven demons. Joanna was connected to Herod’s household through her husband, Chuza, the manager of Herod’s affairs. Susanna is mentioned only here. And then comes the quiet thunder of the text: “These women were helping to support them out of their own means.”

That phrase is a doorway into a kingdom revelation: God changes the world through people history barely mentions.

Joanna and Susanna were Kingdom MVPs—not because they stood on a stage, but because they surrendered what was in their hands. Their ordinary work became extraordinary worship. Their resources became roads for the gospel. Their influence became infrastructure for the ministry of Jesus. Their lives remind us that the story we are part of is bigger than the part we play.

This matters deeply because many believers live with a quiet ache: Does my Monday matter? We love Sunday. We gather, sing, lift our hands, receive the Word, and sense the nearness of God. But then Monday comes with school lunches, emails, staff meetings, invoices, traffic, toddlers, spreadsheets, deadlines, and dishes. Monday can feel painfully ordinary. Yet the gospel refuses to divide life into sacred and secular categories. In Christ, surrendered work becomes holy ground.

Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” Not just your church work. Not just your ministry work. Your work. The boardroom and the classroom. The building site and the kitchen. The studio, the hospital, the office, the sports field, the lecture hall, the home. When committed to the Lord, Monday becomes a mission field.

Joanna did not necessarily have to change her position; she allowed God to redefine it. She was connected to a world of political power, wealth, influence, and tension. Herod’s household was not exactly a Jesus-friendly environment. Yet God used her proximity, her resources, and her obedience. She had access to people and provision that others did not. Her placement had purpose.

What if the same is true for you?

What if your workplace is not merely where you earn money, but where you carry light? What if your business is not only a financial engine, but a kingdom instrument? What if your studies are not just preparation for a career, but formation for a calling? What if parenting is not an interruption to purpose, but one of the deepest expressions of it? What if the place you keep trying to escape is the very place God wants to breathe through?

Ephesians 2:10 declares that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to walk in. That means your life is not random. Your Monday is not meaningless. Your gifts are not accidental. Your influence is not insignificant. There are good works already prepared, and often they are waiting for you in ordinary places.

But the message does not stop at meaningful work. It calls us into surrendered purpose. Joanna and Susanna supported the ministry of Jesus “out of their own means.” They did not give what belonged to someone else. They did not wait for a more convenient season. They took what was in their hands and placed it into His story.

That is the invitation before us: What is in your means? Your home? Your table? Your skill? Your paycheck? Your influence? Your encouragement? Your creativity? Your networks? Your time? Your testimony? Your wisdom? Your prayers? In the kingdom, nothing surrendered is wasted.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3 that one plants, another waters, but God gives the increase. This frees us from the pressure of needing to be seen, celebrated, or credited. Many of us are called to build platforms we may never stand on. Parents do this for children. Leaders do this for teams. Givers do this for generations. Intercessors do this in secret. Faithful saints do this decade after decade, sowing into a harvest they may only see from heaven.

And that is not a lesser calling. That is Christlike.

Jesus Himself, the true and greater MVP, gave away the victory. “He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” He took our place, carried our shame, defeated our enemy, and then handed us a righteousness we did not earn. He played us into grace. He gave us the winning shot. He made His triumph our inheritance.

So now we live differently. We do not work for identity; we work from belovedness. We do not give to prove ourselves; we give because He first gave Himself. We do not build for applause; we build because His kingdom is worthy. We do not despise small beginnings, hidden sacrifices, or unseen faithfulness, because heaven records what earth often overlooks.

Romans 12 calls us to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship. Worship is not only a song on Sunday; it is a surrendered life on Monday. It is integrity in the meeting. Patience with the child. Generosity with the paycheck. Courage in the conversation. Excellence in the task. Compassion toward the broken. Faithfulness when no one is watching.

The kingdom grows at the speed of surrender. Not at the speed of talent. Not at the speed of charisma. Not at the speed of ambition. Surrender. When we place our ordinary in His hands, grace makes it extraordinary.

So wake up tomorrow with faith in your heart. Pack the lunch to the glory of God. Open the laptop to the glory of God. Walk into the classroom to the glory of God. Lead the team, serve the customer, create the art, build the house, write the proposal, visit the friend, pray the prayer—to the glory of God.

You may feel ordinary. You may feel unseen. But so did many of heaven’s heroes. Joanna and Susanna remind us that simple faith makes room for great grace. Your Monday matters. Your work is worship. Your life is part of a story far bigger than you can see.

And in the hands of Jesus, unlikely heroes still change the world.