The Little Things.

I have been speeding through my past few weeks. Every day goes by on a rapid fire setting and before I know it, I can't even recall what was so special about that day. I don't recall learning anything or anything important happening. 

I don't know about you, but I strongly dislike feeling that. I don't like going through a day, just having it pass me by like it was just another breath. The feeling of coming away from a day not having picked up anything, or learned anything about life, the world or more specifically, God, leaves me feeling sick and dull. 

The Little Details.

Reading yesterday's Utmost entry was a great reminder. Chambers talked about how we forget about the little things; we don't focus or pay attention to the details sometimes, we deem the small things as insignificant. But Chambers notes that "Nothing in our lives is a mere insignificant detail to God." To quote more of Chambers:

"You no more need a day off from spiritual concentration on matters in your life than your heart needs a day off from beating. As you cannot take a day off morally and remain moral, neither can you take a day off spiritually and remain spiritual. God wants you to be entirely His, and it requires paying close attention to keep yourself fit."

Pretty much sums up my thoughts completely. We must actively focus on the details of a day. We must actively learn to discern that the small details of our days and lives are significant to God. God can and will use all things, big and small, to teach and admonish us. He desires to use all things to bring us to a knowledge of Himself. Never, never, never think that God's not working.

We need to practice listening to and seeking the Lord in the mundane and small things. It's easy to become jaded to the world, and God's power. It is completely in our freewill to choose whether to see an event as the providence of God, or just a random occurrence. But the more we choose to see even the smallest events as a random happening, it makes us more dull and unappreciative of who God is, and how powerful and gracious He really is. 

I often find myself forgetting that God is the one who has  the final say, this often happens when I don't spend a good amount of focused time reading the Bible or in worship in general. The focus gets put on myself and how upset or tired I am. I get mad at the small things and see them as obstacles instead of opportunities. 

Submitting to the Spirit of Christ in us is important in paying attention to the details. He shows us the Father's heart, and knows what's up. He wants to draw us closer to God. When we submit to Him, we find that the small things are important, the small details matter.God shows us His sovereignty and teaches us great reliance in Himself and as a result, grows us in wisdom as we bring before Him all things in our lives. 

Committing all things to God means throwing our complete weight on Him, trusting Him absolutely and acting. We must say: "I trust you, give me or withhold from me whatever you choose. Lord, what You will, when You will, how You will." And this applies to all things in our life, big and small, and God will work it for the good He intends. 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

    and do not lean on your own understanding.

 

In all your ways acknowledge him,

    and he will make straight your paths."(Proverbs 3:5-6) 

You're not Superman.

I was Skyping with a good friend of mine this week. She's been living in a beautiful European country, studying her Masters. That would sound like the dream situation for anyone, and for her I'm sure it is. God made it clear that He wanted her there. But moving to a new country, with few connections and having to find and then build into a community from scratch is tough. You face huge challenges when you move and make big changes.

Needless to say, when we Skyped, she shared with me the ever continuing challenges and trials she had been undergoing. It's hard when you're miles away from your support system. 

Here I sit, on my side of the world, in the comfort and security of my family and friends, supported by my close ties to my community. I was feeling thankful as I thought about how blessed I was to have this as I faced my own challenging situations here. I knew my friend felt isolated, and lacking in a strong supportive community.

As we further discussed the trials and lessons God was taking her through, it all seemed overwhelming. She sounded confused, and just wanted some clarity and answers. I found myself asking the same questions that had been running through her head: "For what purpose did God place her here?", "What did He want her to do? What direction did she need to take?" "Was God going to transform her situation somehow? Was He going to save the day?"

I wanted to help her. I wanted to be able to give her some comfort and truth in her times of struggle. My thoughts raced as I tried to figure out some form of solid truth of God to give to her. What should I say? "Keep praying and trusting God. Keep seeking God's will and walking according to His Spirit." Okay. But she's already doing all this, isn't she? While saying these truths is probably good to voice, it didn't feel good enough or complete. If I had said those things without understanding why she should, it would be completely empty. 

I stepped back to think about what I had been learning. Learning to walk according to the Spirit no matter what, and allowing His leading to take over has been huge for me these past few months. As I reflected, I realized that I didn't have to try to find a solution to her problems. She too did not have to seek a solid solution to end her problems. 

The most important thing about any situation I have been in is realizing the transformation that God desires to work in us through these experiences. Let the specifics of the problem fade, and let Jesus take center focus. In all circumstances and challenges God wants to transform us. Our problems will not be resolved by our own thinking or the solutions we come up with, but by God's leading and will. It may not seem like the problems get "resolved" at all, at least not in our time, but the main thing is serving God, and Him transforming us at every turn.  

You don't have to be Superman and try save the day, because you're not. I could not do or say anything to help my friend solve her problems, and if she tried to find a solution to her situation she would probably find herself exhausted. In the end it comes down to resting our thoughts on God, transforming every storm and desert into an opportunity to draw closer to Him, and to be changed by Him. As we do this, He will bring about resolution. God will teach us reliance, endurance and perseverance and in the end, we will know Him even more and have come even closer to Him. 

"Keep praying, and seeking God's will and walking according to His Spirit...because He is using these times to refine you. He wants to transform you. Let the specific problems fade out, and learn complete reliance on Him." 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

    and do not lean on your own understanding.

 

In all your ways acknowledge him,

    and he will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6) 

In all ways, walk according to God's leading. Let God and His will in you - which is at all costs to serve and be made more like Him - be a constant thought and desire in your head and heart. God desires to cultivate in us complete reliance, to refine us and burn away all the impurities.