I wrote this ‘Holy30’ devotional for Beyond Bathtime. Learn more about Holy30 here.
When I was in college, I was very interested in God’s input on the Biggies. Things like:
- Whom should I marry?
- What major should I choose?
- What should I do after college?
I would pray and journal, and look for ‘signs’ from God, like when the cute football player in my chemistry class walked me to my dorm after class.
But I was far less interested in God’s input on the Small Stuff. Things like:
- What movie does God want me to watch?
- What should the conversation in my dorm room include?
- Is it okay to waste an entire Saturday?
But as I’ve walked with God, I’ve learned that I can’t separate the Biggies from the Small Stuff. I’m not able to, ‘discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect’ for my next twenty years if I’m not also interested in what he thinks about my afternoon.
My listening patterns are established with the Small Stuff. I find that unless I have an ear cupped toward God’s voice, I won’t hear him at all. If I daydream during church, go weeks without reading my Bible, and pray only when I have to slam on the breaks, I’m actually putting a filter on God’s input, and nothing is getting through to me.
Now, with the world, it’s just the opposite. I listen to the world without even meaning to. I inhale the world’s philosophies without even taking a breath. And if I’m filtering God and inhaling the world, it shows up in the way I make decisions about the Small Stuff first. Things like:
- I know I already have 52 sweaters (and no cash), but I really need to buy 3 more.
- What I watch on TV doesn’t affect me. Who cares if I just watched my 16thextra-marital bedroom scene this week?
- How is going to church any different from listening to Christian radio? They won’t miss me if I take a break.
But then, when it’s time to decide about a Biggie–something like buying an uber-big house, having an affair, or leaving the Church– God will seem strangely quiet, when I ask him for help. I’ll have grown so accustomed to filtering his input that I won’t be able to hear him anymore.
Clearly, the Small Stuff is important. And that’s what Holy30 is all about.
Have you given God some Small Stuff during Holy30? Have you been turning off the TV? Reading your Bible instead of a romance novel? Giving up a radio station or negative friendship?
If so, you have done what the Bible calls ‘renewing your mind’. You’ve torn off a layer of filter, keeping you from hearing God’s voice. And whether you recognize it or not, you’re seeing him more clearly. Your mind is sharper and stronger.
And now, have you considered what might happen next? I believe that this 30 day detox will give you new clarity in determining God’s will; not only on the Small Stuff, but for the Biggies, too!
In our remaining Holy30 days, let’s be listening with an ear cupped as we pray. Let’s lean in as we read God’s Word. Let’s get God’s input.
You never know… God may be waiting for just the right moment to pull out some Biggie directional arrow that he’s holding behind his back, which he custom made just for you!
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”