Faithful in the Little Things

“Faithful in the Little Things”

‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things,so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

(Matthew 25:14-30)

It’s our human nature to ask for “more”. From the moment we take our first breath, that is our heart’s cry, “Give me more!” We sulk, pout, cry and grow frustrated when “more” does not come our way quickly enough to suit us. We compare ourselves to others, who always seem to get the “more” we think we deserve, only to end up feeling defeated and discouraged over our seemingly lack-of-more.

As my niece, Lily, says, “Today is a gift!  That’s why it’s called the “present!”  God, in His great and merciful love for us, fully knowing how we are wired, has been gracious to only “give us this day” first… now (Matthew 6:11).

So, where are you presently? What’s your “present” situation? Where has God allowed you to be right now? Look around you! What has God given you to do right now? Is He giving you the opportunity to love Him by loving someone else; bless Him by blessing someone else; serve Him by serving someone else?

What He’s prepared for you today may seem insignificant, inconvenient, a waste of time or simply “beneath” you. But God has called His children to be faithful and trustworthy in the “little things” He gives to us, so that we will be well-prepared to handle more. As He sees that we have handled these things rightly, He knows we can be trusted with more!

Make the most of the “little things”… and allow Him to prepare you for more.

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin… (Zechariah 4:10)

Pressing on in His love…

xo – P

(Suggested reading: Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 16:1-13)

24 in Twenty-Ten: Scripture Memory Verse #14

Most nights, as I head off to sleep, my last conversation with the Lord is, “Lord, please wake me up in the morning with a hunger and thirst for You!” That’s exactly what I asked as my head hit the pillow this past Monday night.

WARNING: If you are going to pray that prayer be prepared to get the wake up call whenever the Spirit moves! I have found that He often pays little or no attention to the alarm clock parked about 20 inches from my head.

Tuesday morning, 4:30 AM…

Him: WAKE UP!

Me (laying there): Surely You’re kidding?

Him: (silence)

Me: Seriously?

Him: (loud silence)

After lying there for another 20 minutes I decided He was serious.

So, I get up feeling fine, head downstairs, turn on the tea pot, throw my “blankie” in the dryer (my beloved, the non-morning-person, is also part polar bear and likes to sleep at sub-zero temps- thus the need for a heated blankie in the morning), fix my tea and then settle into my “place” to have some one-on-one with the Lord.  I know He’s up to something. I can just feel it.

No sooner do I sit down and wrap myself in my nicely heated blankie then I feel a power surge (aka “hot flash”) coming on, at which point I just start to bawl like a baby!  (You know it’s bad when your house is registering 30 degrees buy you literally have sweat running down the sides of your head.  Seriously!)

Now, my husband will tell you that I normally wake up in a very good mood, probably a little too good a mood to suit him. He’s not a morning person (understatement). I am. He doesn’t talk much in the morning. I wake up talking. He actually told me one time that my cheerfulness in the morning was like heaping burning coals on his head. Alrighty then!

But there I sat, with my hot tea, my hot blanket and my hot self… crying and thinking, “And this is what You woke me up for? Really?”

The dialogue continued, the words spilled out along with the tears, and we finally got to the bottom of what was really going on with me. Yes… He had indeed been up to something!

The thing about having an “Abba” God is that He always knows just exactly what His child needs… and when she needs it. Boy, did He ever know that I needed to cry some stuff out of my heart that morning! And it only took a little hot flash to get the fire going!

Once we finished talking, I opened my Daily Light devotional and read that morning’s portion of Scriptures and He gave me this jewel, and my memory verse #14:

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good thing you do or say. (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, NET).

Yes, just what I needed… Jesus Christ Himself to comfort and encourage my heart that morning! How very sweet of Him. Even sweeter when I realized later that I’d actually read the devotion for June 13th instead of July 13th. But He did that on purpose… because He knew just the right Word for me that morning.

This is why I love Him so and why I’ll keep getting up whenever He wakes me! He’s worth it… and it’s never lost sleep when He wakes you up!

Sweet dreams and happy trails!

Punky