In moments of honesty, it’s easy to see our lives as, well—insignificant. What we do often seems to matter very, very little. Whether it’s pushing papers or changing diapers, it can seem pretty pointless.
(Photo by Photodune)
We often can fall for the thinking that because what we do seems small, or behind-the-scenes, or insignificant, or unequal with our abilities or qualifications, that what we do matters little.
After all, if we foul up, no big deal. The world still turns. Nobody notices. Few seem to care.
Except God.
Your Character Will Scale
God knows our character will scale. Jesus told us so:
He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much, and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. —Luke 16:10
Because that is true, we know that little things make a huge difference. For example, our regular time with God and Bible reading remains an act of faith.
- It offers no immediate maturity, no shafts of light, no sudden life change.
- It works to renew our minds and hearts over time—like it takes years to develop a lawn. Mowing. Weeding. Planting. Pulling.
It takes many hard days of what seems like unproductive busywork to produce something beautiful. Maintenance and growth work together.
Little Things and a Big God
The sluggard in the book of Proverbs found his life suddenly ruined because he assumed “a little sleep, a little slumber,” amounted to nothing (Prov. 24:33-34).
But little things make up big things.
- Pennies make dollars.
- Bricks make walls.
- Days make years.
- Verses make Bibles.
Little things matter, and when little things represent faithfulness to God, they are crucial to our preparation for an expansion of our influence.
(Photo: By SnideRemarks. Imported from Wikivoyage WTS. CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Lord, help me do great things as though they were little, since I do them with your powers and help me to do little things as though they were great, because I do them in Your name. —Pascal
Planting Seeds that Grow Trees in an Insignificant Life
When we ask God to rescue us from our insignificant lives, believing nothing important is happening with us, we need to remember that just the opposite is true.
Little things matter to our big God. Planting a seed seems small, but it grows a tree. The biblical principle of sowing and reaping reveals we usually experience a delay between our obedience to God and the harvest we reap:
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. —Galatians 6:9
Don’t let the delay deceive you.
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