Simple Obedience
Have you ever chosen a “word for the year” or has the Lord ever put a specific word on your heart as you stepped into a new season? I’ll admit, when I first heard of people doing the “word for the year” trend, I thought it was a little bit hokey… like, are you really going to focus on this word all year or are you going to post it on social media and completely forget about it by February? But then, this past New Years… the Lord spoke a word for the year, directly to my heart. (How’s that for a piece of humble pie?)
My word of the year for 2022 was faithfulness.
As I began to pray about the word faithfulness, I felt the Lord was asking me to very simply, lift up my head, look around me, take notice of what the Lord has given me in that day, or even in that very moment, and to be faithful to honor Him with it.
Sometimes I find myself feeling so “busy” or overwhelmed, but the truth is I’m not truly busy, I’m overstimulated and overloaded mentally because I spend too much time chasing entertainment, acceptance, comfort or fulfillment in all the wrong places. Goodness, how many hours do I spend on my phone because I “need a break” or because I want to connect with my friends or because I want to read the latest article by my favorite author? Before I know it, hours have passed and I’m irritable at the people and tasks that are right in front of me. The simple things that God has given me to be faithful with, are the very things I put off or push away, because I am pursuing what seems important and feels promising in the moment.
So last week when Tami wrote on ordinary faithfulness, her words spoke directly to my heart. When she wrote about how every little decision matters, from the seemingly mundane tasks at home, to the hours we put in at work, to the way we respond to our spouses and how we communicate with our children… God cares about those things we deem small or insignificant. He’s asking us to be faithful with the little things before we could ever be trusted with more.
“Enjoy the little things in life because one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.”
Kurt Vonnegut
To extrapolate on that quote, I would say that God wants us to be faithful with the little things, because one day we will realize these “little” things were really the “big” things God had for us in that season. When it comes down to it, how well we steward what God has for us in each season is a question of simple obedience. Will we obey? Will we be faithful with what God has put right in front of us? Or will we revert to the sin of the garden, never content, always striving for satisfaction outside of God’s design. That was the lure in the garden that day, right? The promise for “more” – more knowledge, more significance, more self-glorification. Striving for this elusive “more” got us in a whole mess of trouble. Yet we still struggle with this same temptation today. (Don’t even get me started on the device we hold in our hands all day that promises us “more”… and what symbol is on it…? An apple with a bite out of it…. Coincidence? I think not – but I digress, that’s a post for another day.)
What if we could really grasp onto the fact that we aren’t always meant to strive in that way. What if we could focus more on what God has given us each day, and doing those simple things to the best of our ability.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord… since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24
I know for me, that means I need to practice contentment, putting my phone down, and choosing to steward well, the things that God has given me. I need to remember that in all things, God is the One that I am serving. Since He is the Giver of all that I have, the Author and Director of my life, I am working unto HIM every single day. There’s a perspective switch here, do you feel it? I should not be drudging through my responsibilities and wishing I could be doing something more meaningful or more “fun”. The things God has given me to steward ARE what He’s asking me to do well and to thrive in.
So look up today, sister. Look well into your surroundings and ask yourself, “What has God given me today and how can I be faithful?” I promise the choice will always come down to simple obedience.