A quick smile from a friend, a warm cup of coffee, conversations with family, a cool breeze on a hot day, the smell of morning at 5 am, watching the sun set, that feeling you get when it is cold outside but you are warm and snug in your living room… I could go on and on about the small things that make my day.
These are seemingly small things, and yet, these are things that everyone can relate to with satisfaction. Even though they rarely lead to big things, they can have a big impact on your life. In fact, in life the small things are often the things that have the most impact on you!
The small things are just as important in our lives as the big ones. They keep us going when the times are tough. They don’t cost money yet touch our soul, and change our heart for the glory of God.
God cares about the small things
In fact, we often forget that He does. We are so drowned in our busy lives, and in attempts to be the best we can, that we overlook the small things God gave us to enjoy. We often forget that these things are there for us. They are God-given.
God created these things to comfort us, and to give us strength for the next big thing!
Enjoy the small things
When we focus on enjoying our life, like God commands us to do, we often forget that our lives are made up of the small, mundane things. These things that we often don’t appreciate are in fact what our lives are made up of.
We often take them for granted, which is not right of course. Let us therefore enjoy them. For they are a gift from God, and any gift from God should be enjoyed!
I can’t promise that when you start to notice the little things, and start to enjoy them, that you will change the world. I can promise, however, that should you decide to enjoy the little things in future, you will be changed!
Share the small things
As always, life is not only about us, but about the people around you.
Most of the little things in life can be given, shared, and enjoyed for free. Things like a warm hug, a friendly smile, a word or two of encouragement, companionship, etc. These are all things that don’t cost you a penny to give, but are worth more than all the fortunes of El Dorado!
We have the opportunity today to stop only asking and taking, and start giving and sharing. Life is like a bucket of water and when you only take sooner or later the bucket will be empty. The choice is ours. Our friends need us. Our friends need the little things in life, the things we can give for free, just as much as we do. Therefore, let us share it with them. For when a gift of God is shared through the common love we have for Christ, we are in fact multiplying it!
Live the small things
Most people don’t expect you to notice the little things, because they themselves don’t even notice them, and even if you do notice they don’t expect you to enjoy them, and even when you do enjoy them they don’t expect it to have any impact on your life. I, on the other hand, do. If you start today, and learn to enjoy the little things just as much as the big ones, you will be changed for the better, and the big things in your life will be filled with joy. Not because the little ones changed them, but because you were changed!
Life is made up of a lot of things. Big and small. You cannot enjoy the big things if you do not enjoy the small ones. Therefore, look around you and recognize that change starts with you. Change starts with me. Change starts with all of us!
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5 AM mornings, yes! *high five*
I certainly agree with your message. I have been blessed with the presence of a family that frequently thanks God for the ‘small things’: things like doors and light switches and ceilings. It’s much easier to be joyful when you start thinking of all the things you have rather than what you don’t have.
Haha, thanks. *high-five* though sometimes the discipline to rise early is hard to maintain. And yes! The small things often go by unnoticed… We had a sermon a few weeks ago about 2 Kings 4:2.
“And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.”
And the pastor’s message was this: Elisha does not ask: “What do you need?” He was the man of God, and he could have prayed to God to solve her problems and God probably would have done so. Elisha asks however: “What do you HAVE?”
It’s easy to forget what we have, and only think of what we need, but like you said, thinking, talking, living, and praying thankfully about the small things helps to remind us that they too are God-given.
Thanks for the encouraging words!
This was a very insightful post and was very well written. I love that in your bio you say that your dream is to someday be a God-fearing father. That blew me away and says a lot about your character. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this wonderful piece with us and I can’t wait to see more of your writing around here God willing. Have a great week friend!
~ Bekah
http://thenarrowroadforteens.wordpress.com
Thanks Bekah.
“Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.” – Ps 115:1
Thanks for the encouragement. I am but a humble servant of the Lord, and I am forever thankful that He uses me despite my faults, for they are many.
If God wills it, I definitely will write for TheReb again, though right at the moment God has other plans for me.
And my wishes are that you will have a great week, filled with the grace of our Lord as well.
Ps. I’ve been to your blog, and I know who’s articles will be reading for the next few days…
Such a great article Pieter! I know delighting in the little things is something I used to do far more often, but as life and adulthood encroached in, I pushed delight aside, thinking “I don’t have time for this, it’s not as important.” But that’s not true, and the pushing aside of delight took a toll on my emotional, mental, and spiritual strength. God wants us to joy in the gifts He’s given us! “They don’t cost money yet touch our soul, and change our heart for the glory of God.” <– So good. Thank you for this much-needed reminder today!
Yep. When God showed Himself to Eliah, he was not in the magnificent (the fire, the earthquake, or the strong wind) in my bible it is translated that God showed Himself to Eliah in “a soft and pleasant coolness”. Like Eliah we often want to make a difference through the significant. God did something wondrous. He let fire rain from heaven and lit the fire to His own saccrifice! (1 Kings 18)
The same example we find in the New Testament when Abraham says to the rich man who wanted to warn his family and friends: “They have Moses and the other prophets.” Jesus is the living example. He died, and was so powerful that He was resurrected! And yet, this was not enough to persuade the Jews that He was indeed the promised Saviour.
If the quiet power of the Word does not change people, the significant will not change them either. The same goes for the small things in life. If you can’t enjoy them, you can’t enjoy the big ones either.
Thanks so much for commenting Belle! I appreciate the encouragement. May God bless you.
Thanks so much for this, Pieter. This is such an uplifting and insightful article! A wonderful reminder. (P.S. that’s so cool you live in SA! That’s for sure a country I would love to visit someday!)
Thanks an pleasure Olivia!
Jong, sometimes we (me included) south africans need reminding that we are indeed blessed by God to live here… Right now I wouldn’t recommend it though, unless you have a burning (literally) desire for deserts…
Thanks for the encouragement friend! I pray that if God wills it you do get a chance to visit SA.
Yeah, I heard about the drought in Cape Town, too. Praying for your country! And no problem! And thank you. 🙂
Blessings!
Thank you! A prayer from the heart of a faithful is never ignored…
Dankie vir jou artikel, Pieter! Dit was ‘n goeie uitdaging om mens se perspektief reg te hou 🙂
Plesier Jeannette. Eks bly jy het dit geniet!
As another South African (living a few hours from Cape Town and heading into that area in a few months) I just wanted to thank you for your prayers as well, Olivia 🙂 It would be awesome if God directs your steps to SA one day!
Blessings 🙂