A Fellowship of Believers

Menu
Facebook Instagram Pinterest
Facebook Instagram Pinterest

The Truth About Life’s Small, Simple Moments

My church did a sermon series about legacies last fall. Our pastors used various stages of David’s life to teach about how to leave a legacy with eternal significance. On the final week of the preaching series, my pastor talked about how a legacy is managed moment by moment. Although we think about BIG things that happen in people’s lives, those big things usually involve  many small moments that led up to them. David’s legacy wasn’t formed by one big moment, my pastor said, but by a thousand small ones. This is how God builds legacies-–through daily faithfulness.

My pastor asked the question: If someone looked at your ordinary moments from the past week or month, what story would they see?

This reminds me of an oft repeated phrase from Eugene Peterson, who wrote that deeper discipleship comes from a “long obedience in the same direction.” While our world is typically more focused on instant results, some things come with quiet patience, persistence and faithfulness. Ordinary moment after ordinary moment focused on Jesus.

What story are your ordinary moments telling about you? In case it helps, here is a list of 30 examples of the kinds of ordinary moments that might make up a day. 

  1. Waking up when your alarm goes off or pushing snooze. (Does pushing snooze prevent you from having enough time to read your Bible in the morning before your day begins?)
  2. Choosing what to listen to while you get ready for the day.
  3. How you speak to people at work.
  4. How you respond to an unkind email or comment.
  5. Striking up a conversation with a coworker and asking about her faith.
  6. Showing kindness to somebody who is lonely or mistreated. 
  7. Inviting someone to church.
  8. Working with integrity on the day when your boss is out of the office.
  9. Thanking God when something goes your way.
  10. Glorifying God when something goes your way.
  11. Sending a text to follow up after you told a friend you would pray for her.
  12. Asking God for patience with your family member who is pushing the limits.
  13. Choosing whether or not to watch a certain show. (Does it glorify God?)
  14. Prioritizing church over another competing ‘obligation’ that tries to push its way into your Sunday morning.
  15. Going to bed on time so you can be at your best the next day.
  16. Deciding whether or not to show up for that church event.
  17. How you respond to unexpected interruptions in your day.
  18. Finding a small group at church to join, and then choosing each week to actually attend.
  19. Being on time to meetings and appointments at work. (And other places, too!)
  20. Setting up an automatic monthly tithe.
  21. Making intentional time to talk to a younger person who is seeking godly wisdom and direction.
  22. Being a kind driver on the road.
  23. Talking to God in small moments throughout the day. (Thanks for this meal! Help me shine your light in this meeting! You get the glory for how well that just went! Show my loved one who you are right now! Etc.)
  24. Showing generosity when there is an opportunity—even if it’s just a small opportunity.
  25. Setting aside some minutes to read your Bible.
  26.  Asking your child/niece/nephew/grandchild/neighbor/young friend about what her Sunday School lesson was about … or what she’s been reading in her Bible lately.
  27. Responding to friends with encouraging words or criticism. 
  28. Showing gratitude to someone who deserves it.
  29. Taking a little time to visit your lonely/elderly/widowed/overwhelmed/etc. neighbor, coworker or friend.
  30. Saying hello to people you walk past—at work, at the grocery store, on the sidewalk, at church, wherever.

What are your ordinary moments saying about you? How is God building your eternal, enduring legacy for Him through your day-to-day decisions and actions? It is highly unlikely that you’ll wake up one day and all of a sudden make ONE HUGE decision that establishes your godly legacy. As the moments of your days solidify your reputation of faithfulness and integrity, perhaps God will see you’re ready for a bigger purpose. All those little things help to prepare you for what is coming. For example, by exercising your faith muscle in small ways (by deciding to go to church, by talking about Jesus at work, by taking a small risk and trusting Jesus for the results), it strengthens, develops and matures. By building up that muscle, you may be ready to one day take a BIG, risky step that requires BIG faith. 

Also, by establishing a reputation through small but consistent moments of faithfulness and integrity, you are witnessing to the unbelieving world around you in ways that might seem inconsequential but are actually significant. I heard John Mark Comer, a pastor and author, once say that one of his church members had a boss who was quite anti-Christianity. However, the church member did her job well. She worked each day with faithfulness and integrity in those small but significant ways. One day, the pastor called her into his office and said he wanted her to recruit more of her fellow churchgoers to work at their company. Why? Because the boss had noticed that everyone who came from that church was an excellent employee. While this hadn’t yet triggered a conversion, the employees’ small moments were being noticed, and seeds were being planted.

So what story are your ordinary moments saying about you?