I know I’ve fallen into the trap of letting my faith slip into autopilot for the day-to-day moments considered “too small” for God.
Moments like how to respond to seeing socks or toys still on the ground after reminding people to pick them up several times already.
Or moments when you walk into the kitchen to make dinner only to be met with a sink full of dishes you’d rather toss out than wash.
Or even moments when you’re just casually talking to a friend or family member and gossip starts to replace real conversation.
It’s so easy to let your faith fall and allow your flesh to take its place.
But I’m here to tell you that God cares just as much about how you respond in these moments as you do in the bigger faith moments.
As a matter of fact, I’d even go as far as to say he cares even more about these “little moments” because they are what prepare you to handle the big ones!
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”– Luke 16:10 (NIV)
Why little things matter
God wants your faith to operate as a whole, not just in one part. Your faith can’t be reserved for only the obvious areas of your life.
The little parts are what make up the big parts.
Think of it like your body. Your body is made up of several individual parts and they all have a purpose in ensuring you are fully functioning.
You can’t be a fully functioning body if you’re missing multiple little parts.
Faith works the same way. To have a fully functional faith it must be practiced or as I prefer to say, exercised in the everyday “little” moments in your life.
That might sound like a bit much but you’d say the same thing about your body if you saw all the little details that make it fully functional.
When you practice applying faith in these areas bit by bit rather than overwhelming yourself with the whole kit and kaboodle, it won’t feel like as much as it sounds.
These things matter for your overall wellbeing but also so that God witnesses your dedication to faithfulness.
We often associate faithfulness with visible acts—ministry work, missions, church offerings and big donations. These are good and biblical. But they are not the foundation of faith.
Quiet unseen faith tends to be where the biggest impact is truly made. God and everyone can see a big donation to the church but the practiced faith that nobody but you and God will ever see or know about, that’s special.
In Mark 12:41–44 Jesus praises the widow who gave “all she had to live on,” contrasting her unseen faithfulness with others’ visible abundance.
“She, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” (NIV)
It’s not that the bigger things don’t matter but we as humans tend to put too much emphasis on them and overlook the subtle importance of the little things.
For example, what do you think makes a bigger impact on a child?
Giving them a big Christmas with all the presents they wanted?
Or
Spending quality time with them everyday? Playing with them, having engaged conversations with them, and just consistently showing up for them.
The big Christmas is great! Nothing wrong with it but the impact goes as quickly as it comes.
Faith works the same way. It’s built through daily consistency, not just grand gestures.
We also need to be careful not to fall into the “Pharisee trap” which is to rely on those grand gestures of faith to make us feel like we are being faithful without putting any actual spiritual effort into being faithful. It’s an easy path to slip down so stay vigilant.
How to exercise your faith in the little moments?
- Pray First
For the self-awareness to stay present throughout your day and take notice of these moments when they arise. Then pray for self control and emotional regulation. This allows for you to recognize these moments and be in the right frame of mind and spiritual alignment to handle them faithfully.
- Speak God’s Truth Over You
And any feelings you may be experiencing in the moment. Maybe you’re angry, anxious, stressed, or prideful well now that you’ve named the feeling you can pray over it.
“Lord, I’m angry right now because— I know that I can feel this anger without using it to hurt others or amplify this situation. Please help me to let go of my anger and replace it with calm and gentleness…”
Truth and prayer can disrupt knee-jerk flesh reactions. If you find difficulty with specific feelings like anger, anxiety, or pride then try memorizing scripture that diffuses your particular vice.
After you’ve self-regulated…
- Offer something constructive to the situation
If you’re dealing with another person (or people depending on the situation) offer patience, kindness, or forgiveness without the need for any kudos or validation for doing so (if you recognize any pride as an issue here make sure to bring that to God in prayer).
If your particular situation involves only you (for example you judge someone in your head, have an intrusive thought, get anxious, or start self condemnation) then again offer patience, kindness, or forgiveness this is constructive faith in action.
- Trust God…
with things outside of your control. Take refuge in God’s sovereignty over your life! I’m telling you it’s the most freeing thing you can do.
Get fired? Welp, God’s got you!
You may not know what will happen next but if you just take a moment to remind yourself:
“God loves me and because he loves me I can trust he is taking care of me right now even while things around me are chaotic.”
Then you’ll first gain a peace like no other (Philippians 4:7) and then you’ll have a better sense of where God’s hand is in your life because you won’t have stress and worry and negativity clouding your view or deafening you to his voice.
Even smaller things like changes in your schedule which can throw your nervous system into chaos and feel like the end of the world can still be entrusted to God. Nothing is outside of his control.
If you think he doesn’t care about your appointment getting canceled or your dinner burning or the kids being let out of school early when you don’t have time to go pick them up then remember:
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”–Matthew 6:26 (NIV)
Small acts of faith turn into big impact
Exercising little faith builds momentum for bigger faith.
By practicing patience with your kids or spouse or coworker you are building a virtue of patience. Eventually you’ll go from someone practicing patience to someone who is patient.
Exercising honesty and integrity refines your character until you can be described as an honest and integral person.
Not only does this allow God to trust you with more but it also trains you to better trust in God.
The more you trust him, the more you’ll obey him, the more your faith will grow and the more God will entrust to you.
Also as your faith strengthens with the little things you’ll find the bigger things much easier to handle.
You’ll even develop a sort of spiritual confidence that will have you running towards challenges and responsibilities that once scared you.
I know for me…
I grew to seek out challenges as a way to not only prove to myself I could do them but also as a way to dedicate myself to God by showing my trust and obedience to Him.
I deferred my jury duty service for a year in 2024 and by the time it came around in 2025 I was in a place in my faith that I, despite my nerves, was excited to conquer a challenge I once literally hid from.
There was a point in time in my life I delayed medical care because I was too anxious to make the phone call but I challenged myself last year to make my own phone calls for doctors appointments and my dog’s vet appointment as well.
That may seem small to people who make phone calls all the time or don’t have phone call anxiety but to me it was like climbing Mount Everest.
The great thing about accomplishing challenges and conquering fears is it makes doing it again easier and makes new challenges seem less intimidating.
These weren’t big faith moments to anyone else—but they were proof to me that practicing faith in small things changes who you become.
Reflection
I want to encourage you to take “little faith” seriously and actively work on applying it to your everyday moments.
If you’ve read my earlier post on choosing faith over feelings, this is where that principle becomes practical—lived out in the small moments that often go unnoticed.
So, this week, start by choosing one “little thing” to apply your faith to instead of your feelings.
Prayer for the little things…
Father God,
I humbly come before You today to request Your help in having bigger faith in smaller moments of my everyday life.
Help me to stop and contemplate spiritually what I should do in moments I would normally allow my faith to slip and my flesh to lead. Remind me that my faith is to be my top priority even at times it seems unimportant.
Grow my faith to reflect Christ’s and help me to conduct myself in a godly manner even when nobody but You can see me.
Lord, thank You for Your faithfulness which shows up in my life in the little moments which I often take for granted.
In Jesus’ faithful name,
Amen.
Or… Find more faith-building posts below:
Real Life; Real Faith-
- the Practical Application of Your Faith
- Faith over Feelings
- Everyday Idols Pulling You From God
- Created for Communion: God’s Design For Faith-based Relationships
- Building Faith-Filled Relationships
- A Walking Testimony: Being a Christian ALL the Time
If you’re new to faith or just coming back:
Or check out post 1 of my Living Limitless in Christ series, if you missed it.
0 Comments