little, ordinary life
"This job has been given to me to do.
Therefore, it is a gift.
Therefore, it is a privilege.
Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God.
Therefore, it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him.
Here, not somewhere else, I may learn God's way.
In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness."
- Elisabeth Elliot
Autumn is such a lovely season. The rich colours, the crisp air that makes one reach for a cozy knit sweater, and the hearty soup recipes that just fit this time of year. I know it technically doesn't begin until nearly the end of September, but I'm already in fall mode by the time the end of August rolls around.
Without a doubt, autumn is one of my favourite times of the year. This year, however, it has been a bit of a different experience.
Weather and nature wise, autumn is beautiful. It is also one of the busiest seasons as people head back to their activities after their summer hiatus. Back to school or college, back to weeknight busyness, back to sizeable projects that were all but forgotten over the warm, summer months. And for the first time in my life, I'm not part of that "back to" company. I don't have a major goal in sight that I'm actively working on and I don't even have classes to distract myself with. Talk about lost.
In fact, after graduating with my BSc. in August of 2022 and starting a new job, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do next. For awhile, I was distracted with my engagement and marriage to the second love of my life - of course, Jesus is and always will be my first love. But once we had settled into a routine, I had a lot more time to think about the big question we over-achievers inevitably ask ourselves:
what next?
What will be my next big accomplishment?
What do I want to do with my life?
Am I wasting my precious, limited time?
Am I failing?
Am I behind?
Is this the wrong thing for me to be doing right now?
If you've ever asked yourself any of these questions, you're in good company.
Or at least, the right company.
I too have asked myself these questions along with a plethora of others. It's easy to feel overwhelmed when thinking about what comes next. There are so many options open to us these days that it can be hard to choose what we're going to act on. And comparison is such an easy trap to fall into, especially in this modern age of social media, where the highlight reels of millions bombard us with the message that our little lives are not enough. We have to do more, be more, know more. More, more, more. Always hungry, never satisfied.
What if we dared to ask different questions of ourselves? What if we championed a new battle cry?
I'm going to pull us to Acts 18 for a moment. This passage shows us a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the life of Paul, one of the most renowned evangelists of the early church and the author of a hefty chunk of the New Testament. Paul evidently served God and others with his life. But do you know what else he did?
He made tents.
He was a tentmaker! The passage reads "and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks."
Here's Paul, a gifted speaker and teacher. He's a well-learned man who wants to serve and honour God. He preaches in synagogues and teaches anyone who will listen how to know and follow God.
And one of the ways he does this is by faithfully showing up to work each day, Monday to Friday, to make and sell tents.
Okay, maybe I'm taking a bit of poetic license, but clearly Paul was involved in a blue-collar, menial labour job. His hands were rough and calloused from working with stiff materials. His shoulders ached at the end of the week from hours spent hunched over his workbench, sewing tents. He got home at the end of a long day, wearied from his labour and ready for a nap.
I think it's pretty telling that God thought it important enough to mention that Paul was a tentmaker. It reminds us that Paul wasn't superhuman. It reminds us that he also had to work for a living. He had hopes and dreams and human emotions, just the same as any of us. He relied on the same God who sustained Him and gave him strength when He was too exhausted and discouraged to continue. Paul didn't have access to a secret resource or formula - the same God that walked with Paul will walk with us. All we have to do is ask.
Paul didn’t have access to a secret resource or formula. The same God that walked with Paul will walk with you. All you have to do is ask.
Now, I'm not trying to say that you have to be the next Paul and share the gospel with hundreds of thousands of people, or write a book that will be read by millions, or even make tents. What I am trying to say is that this life that you live matters.
This little life that you live matters.
You matter.
None of the effort you put in is in vain if it is done for the LORD.
You don't have to change the world. You don't have to do something grand. You don't even have to do more or be more. But you do have to change your mindset.
1 Corinthians 15:58 in the amplified version reads "Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose]."
You don't have to be more. You need to make more of Jesus.
Seek His face. Read His word. Draw close to Him, and He will draw close to you.
Whether you're working at a job you hate, working at a job you love, unsure of the next steps, or working towards a clear-cut goal, it doesn't make a difference. That is exactly where God wants you to be right now. He wants a relationship with you where you rely more fully on Him and trust that He loves you and won't abandon you. He will show you the next steps when the time comes. All you have to do is be faithful with the task at hand.
God has you where you are for a reason. He wants a relationship with you where you rely more fully on Him and trust that He loves you and won’t abandon you. He will show you the next steps when the time comes.
All you have to do is be faithful with the task at hand.
As a high-achiever, I often feel the urge to make a big impact with my life. I want to somehow leave a mark on the world and make a difference in the lives of others. And I'm not saying that these thoughts are wrong, but I am saying that sometimes in our pursuit of a great ideal, we miss out on what - or who - is right in front of us. We miss out on serving our neighbour by raking their leaves or taking a home-cooked meal to new parents. We miss out on chatting with a friend in the grocery store aisle, reminding someone that they are important enough to pause our hurried tasks for a moment. And sometimes we miss out on God.
What if, instead of asking, "what's next?" we asked God to let us see this moment, the here and now, with His eyes.
What if, instead of aiming for a big life, we took this little life as it is, with all its limitations, and asked God "how will you bless others through me today?"
What if our new battle cry became "LORD, help me to live in this moment and to see the people right in front of me. Help me to bless just one person today."
Rather than trying to change the world, why not start small and start with the people right around you? None of the things you do, if done for the LORD, are purposeless. None of it is "too little." Living this little life, you will begin to realize that no life can be little because God is not limited and He gives meaning and abundance to even the littlest of things. Living a little life, you begin to see that the hundreds of other little lives you interact with matter too.
Faithfulness starts small, in the here and now, in the little moments of our little, most ordinary lives.
And at the end of the day, when all's said and done, we want to hear God say, "well done, good and faithful servant." Faithfulness starts small, in the here and now, in the little moments of our little, most ordinary lives. To God, the little things matter. Our tiny offering of two copper coins matters. Our five loaves and two fish matter. The size of the offering isn't what's important, because God is not limited by the little. Make more of God by offering Him what little you have with open hands, curious and trembling at what God can do with your little life.
Make more of God by offering Him what little you have with open hands, curious and trembling at what God can do with your little life.
♪ - listen to Heaven Changes Everything by Big Daddy Weave.
