Luke 16:10, "He who is faithful in a very little [thing] is faithful also in much, and he who is dishonest and unjust in a very little [thing] is dishonest and unjust also in much."
Have you ever felt as if the things that you were doing in life were little things? Maybe you work at a part time job instead of a full time job. Maybe you desire to be a writer, but your writing isn't worldwide yet. Maybe you want to be a pro athlete, but right now you are simply playing sports in your small town. Whatever the case may be, I believe that we all have been in a place at one time or another of wanting to be experiencing bigger things in life than the seemingly little things we see right now.
The whole story of being faithful in the little things is something that God has really been working with me on lately.
For the past month or so, I found myself in a place of desiring my life to be going places, but I didn't really have a tangible goal in mind as to where my next step was going to be. I tried the college thing, and although I did fine academically, I didn't really enjoy college life. The job I have is one that I absolutely love, but with it being part time, I didn't see a way of being able to better myself in life as to move out and become a responsible young woman while not having a full time job. God's timing for me having my spouse in my life is different from my own, so I didn't really see marriage happening any time soon either.
So here I was... Completely desiring my life to be going places yet finding myself wondering exactly what I was supposed to do.
I wanted to have a "big" life overnight, yet I found myself with a lot of "little" things.
My hope is to be a Christian writer at some point in my life. I want to reach people with the devotionals that God gives me to write. I want to change the world for God. I hope to find a full time job with benefits so I can start new chapters in my life that I'm not able to start until then. I hope to one day get married and have kids. All of these things seem like such "big" dreams to me, but today I have "little" things that God is telling me to be faithful in.
Have you ever been here?
As I struggled with trying to find purpose for my life, God began working on my heart, and this is what He spoke to me: "Taylor, you want a full time job... be faithful at your part time job. You want to be a Christian writer... publish devotionals on your blog today, and touch your "little" corner of the world. You want to be a wife and mom... be kind to the family, friends, and coworkers that are in your life today. You want to move into an apartment... take care of your car and your room."
God began to lay on my heart that I needed to be faithful in the little things, and when His time was right, He would add more and more to my little things.
Joyce Meyer, whom I share stories about quite often, once shared a story about how she so desired to preach to big crowds of people. She knew that God had a big ministry for her, but for years she taught small Bible studies. She found herself having God teaching her things such as putting her shopping cart away at grocery stores or making sure that if she used up the last of the toilet paper that she refilled it instead of leaving an empty role. All of these things had to have seemed like such little things, but they are all things that she says God was teaching her excellence through.
Now the ministry that God has given her is absolutely huge, but it didn't become that way overnight. It took time, patience, and faithfulness!
As I began letting go of my worries for big things happening now and began focusing on what God wanted me to do today, I found purpose for my life once again. He sent me encouragement from a few people who I never even knew read my devotionals. He showed me favor at my job. He took care of me, and He made what seemed so "little" to me before have meaning and purpose that I was so longing for.
Today, maybe you too feel stuck in the little things of life, but please don't give up. Continue to press in to what God has for you, and be encouraged by the story of the servants found in Luke 19. Verses 16-17 say, "The first one came before him, and he said, Lord, your mina has made ten [additional] minas. And he said to him, Well done, excellent bond servant! Because you have been faithful and trustworthy in a very little [thing], you shall have authority over ten cities."
Whatever God gives you today, be faithful, and trust God to do the rest!
Dear Heavenly Father,
One of the main things You've been teaching me lately is to be faithful in the little things. I pray that You will help not only me but also anyone else who is feeling like they aren't really making progress to remember how important those "little" things really are. Help us to keep on keeping on even if we feel stuck. In Jesus' Name.
Amen.
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