Today, we live in a world where people thrive on being busy. We fill up our days with meetings, miscellaneous tasks and errands, or simply anything that will occupy our time. Whether or not these things are productive or actually accomplish anything is oftentimes an afterthought (if we even think about it at all.) In doing so, we tend to overlook the little things in life. There are so many moments that pass by, so many people that go unnoticed, and so many opportunities that we miss. If we would slow down, be intentional with our actions, and actually take time to notice everything that is going on around us, we might see that God shows himself through these little things.
I don’t know about you but for me, sometimes when I think of God I think in too much of a big picture. What I mean by that is I notice, think about, and talk to God in the important moments but do not recognize his presence throughout the course of daily life; we turn to God for praise when things are going great, and we turn to God for hope when things are going poorly. In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis discusses the notion that too much agony might even be disliked by Satan and his followers, stating that in such times of uncertainty and chaos more people will turn to God. In moments that are larger than life, we search for answers, and God is an answer to which we typically come. But his presence can be easily forgotten when things are status quo. But the reality is, while God is indeed larger than life, those are not the only moments in which God exists. He is not simply a solution to our problems, or the answer to our pressing questions, He is the whole reason we live our lives in the first place.
Our relationship with God changes throughout our lives, but that is because of who we are, not because God himself changes. While it may seem like He changes, God is actually the one true constant in our lives. We are the ones who must allow ourselves to recognize and appreciate his faithfulness in every aspect of our lives; we must strive to create a stronger and more intentional relationship. The reason our relationship with God has these ups and downs and twists and turns is oftentimes because we are so caught up in our busy lives that we don’t recognize when He is there in the small moments. Once we have accepted Christ into our lives and have chosen to follow him it is quite literally impossible for us to exist without his presence.
1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
I would like to leave us all with a challenge. The challenge is this: In the midst of the unpredictable times in which we are currently living, let’s all take time this week to stop what we’re doing and appreciate the moment that God has given us. Let’s take a few moments this week, back away from the busyness we have created for ourselves, and cherish the little things through which God shows his everlasting love.
*This blog was written by Blake Batchelor, who is a junior at the University of South Alabama and is currently the worship leader for the Wesley Foundation.
