[1]
Editor’s note: The following is adapted from “In His Footsteps: A 90-Day Devotional to Enjoy Jesus Daily (Featuring Daily Words of Wisdom from Adrian Rogers),” a new devotional from Gayle Rogers Foster, released by B&H Publishing.
It’s one thing to “rise to the occasion” when you are in front of the microphone and the multitude. It is quite another thing when there is no microphone and there is no multitude.
I believe God is most honored when you do the mundane tasks that make up real life in His power and for His glory alone, with no one watching, no one noticing, and definitely no one applauding. God takes delight in you when you do the dishes and take out the trash. He surrounds you with His pleasure when you change the dirty diapers, rock the crying babies and do another load of laundry.
My father, Adrian Rogers, would say “The big things in life are made up of little acts, little words, little thoughts.”
It is the highest calling of God to do the lowest duties faithfully, day in and day out, for His glory. The premise of the classic book “Practicing the Presence of God” written by Brother Lawrence is that Jesus is just as present when you are doing the dishes in a chaotic kitchen as He is in the solitude of a monastery. He is present in the menial tasks.
[2]Jesus Himself lived this sinless life by taking on the “humble position of a slave” (Philippians 2:7). When no one else notices and no one else cares is when God takes notice. The standing ovation of the crowd blocks the vision of God. In obscurity God notices faithfulness most clearly. What are you doing when no one is watching and the task you are performing seems totally unimportant to a world wanting to be impressed by power and position? You can receive your recognition on earth from men, or you can receive your recognition from God. Choose wisely.
Your calling as a homemaker, your calling as an hourly employee, your calling as a humble servant is where the life of Jesus in you shines the brightest. The less noticeable you are, the more noticeable Jesus is. The less you do big things that bring glory and attention to you, the more glory and attention your life is able to bring to God. And if you are faithful in these little things, there may be times when God chooses you to be the one to participate in doing something the world calls big. It is all big to God. But only if you have proven yourself by faithfully doing the mundane in His strength and for His glory will He trust you to do the same in what the world calls mighty and miraculous. You must have the same attitude in both, or even the “big” things you do for God will be burned up at the judgment like wood, hay and stubble.
As Scripture tells us, “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.” (Luke 16:10)
Thank God for your high calling to be a humble servant. Be prepared for the big moment, but be willing to serve in obscurity. That is where the real heroes are found.
Gayle Rogers Foster is a national speaker, author and founder of Think On These Things With Gayle Rogers Foster. She is also the daughter of Adrian Rogers, renowned preacher and pastor.
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