the next thing

God has been teaching me about the word “overwhelmed” lately.

It is a word that creeps into many crevices of my life. I get overwhelmed by the messy condition of my home. I get overwhelmed by the behavior of my 4-year-old who seems to have more stamina for throwing tantrums than I do for disciplining. I get overwhelmed by the number of people to whom I should reach out, or return phone calls, or have over for dinner. I get overwhelmed by the projects that need doing that I will never have time to do in the foreseeable future. I even get overwhelmed at the grocery store by the sheer number of cereal boxes there are to choose from in every size and sugar level.

Feeling overwhelmed makes me shut down. I can't do anything very well when I am consumed by the feelings of all that looms too largely in front of me.

Then lately, there is this thought, that maybe the feeling of being overwhelmed isn't something I should entertain. Maybe it isn't from God. Maybe it is something that has worked against me my whole life in order to see me so stopped up by the daily chores that I would never consider do something grandly outside of myself for the love of Christ. 

You see, I also get overwhelmed by the dreams I believe God might be putting in my heart. Too big, too lofty, too hard, too impractical, too far to go from here, too unrealistic at this life stage.

A message has been echoing through the corners of my mind over the last few weeks, originally beginning with the words of Jennie Allen whose gift is sincerity of heart. The message is to begin by being faithful with whatever is the next thing. 

Don't look down the road at the things I might sacrifice or count the ways I am incapable. Simply be faithful with the next thing. Do what God wants for today. When the thing after that comes along, be faithful with that too. 

When I am overwhelmed by the disaster in my kitchen, I take a deep breath and dive into one task at a time. First clear the table. Then put the food away. Move the dishes to the sink. Wipe down counter tops. Do the next thing, and then the thing after that. After inevitable interruptions occur, return and press on. 

Wouldn't it make sense to pursue God with the same faithful step by step approach?

The next thing might be making a phone call, or it might be sitting down to read a book with a child who dearly craves attention. It might be doing dishes with joy. It might be something bigger like saying yes to leading a Bible study, or it might not.

The thing I am seeing clearly is that faithfulness starts little. Following after God's heart is not an overwhelming task looming before us. It has always been simple, requiring little, offering much.

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much..." 

Luke 16:10 

"It is like a mustard seed,

which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 

Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, 

with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."  

Mark 4:31, 32