by Molly Audiss

I Corinthians 10:31  “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

God created each of us to glorify Him.  Everything that happens to us, to those around us, to our country, and to our world, happens because God allows it to happen for His glory.  God’s glory is the purpose we are alive.  It is the reason He wants us to be with Him in heaven.  It is simply the reason for everything.  When our life glorifies Him, it brings us great peace and joy because we are fulfilling our purpose.

We would all say “yes” to the fact that we want our lives to bring Him glory, but when we compare that sometimes vague and general ideal to the nitty gritty of our everyday lives, the two just don’t seem to line up.  It seems easy to see how the life of a great preacher or missionary would honor God, but how in the world do our average, ordinary, and sometimes boring lives bring God glory?  Have you ever wondered that?  I have.  When I go soul winning, go to church, read my Bible, and pray, I can understand how that is glorifying God because it is “spiritual.”  But what about the things that take up the majority of our time:  sleeping, eating, bathing, cooking, cleaning, ironing, going to work, raising kids,  grocery shopping, driving from here to there, changing diapers, caring for an elderly parent, the list goes on and on.  These are the basic elements of our lives.  If our purpose in life is to bring Him glory, how do we accomplish that in the mundane tasks of each day?

To answer that question, let me remind us all of some things we already know about the Lord.

God sees us, knows us, loves us, and cares about every aspect of our lives. 

Matthew 10:30-31  “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

God created you in a unique and special way.  He knows every little thing about you,  and He loves you.  Your life has meaning to Him; it is important to Him.  If the Lord takes the time to keep a running tally of the number of hairs on our head, then surely it matters to Him what we spend our days doing, even cleaning toilets!

God’s ways and God’s thoughts are very different than our ways and our thoughts.

Isa 55:8  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”

God is not impressed with the things that impress human beings.  He is not in awe of the talents of the professional athlete.  He is not amazed by the salary or income of the famous business owner.  He does not admire how many people an actor, a musician, or a politician can get to follow them.   None of the things that are important to man are important to God.  Most things that we love in life are temporal-money, clothes, fame, houses, entertainment, cars, careers.  Our God is eternal, and everything He loves is eternal.

God’s timing is much different than our timing.

2 Peter 3:8  “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

God sees our entire life on earth all in one moment, as if looking at a photograph instead of a video.  He is so big, that He lives in the beginning, the present, and the end of time, all at once.   Therefore, our 70 or 80 years here on earth is just a few hours to Him.  All that we accomplish for Christ in our lives is evident to Him at once.  We cannot comprehend that; we live with minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years.  We look at our accomplishments day by day (the laundry, the diapers, the punch-in punch-out at work, the bills, the paperwork, the yard work…), and we may feel that our duties are unimportant.  God looks at all of it together, and sees a life that glorifies Him.

For this reason, we must never compare our life with anyone else’s life.  That person that seems to live that exciting life, that does “important” things for God, their life is filled with mundane tasks, just like yours.  I will take my pastor for example.  He preaches to thousands of people several times a week.  It is easy to see that He is doing great things for God.  But outside of his time behind the pulpit are the day-to-day duties of paperwork, meetings, signing documents, counseling negative situations, raising money, paying bills, solving problems, etc.  Indeed, many of his duties are probably things that I would not want to do.  We cannot compare ourselves with others.  God gave us the exact set of responsibilities he wants us to handle.  We can glorify God just as much as anyone else when we do what we were meant to do.  Homemaker, do you feel isolated as you stay home to raise a family?  Do you feel less important because you do not bring home a paycheck?  God needs you!  There is no job greater than the one you have been given, rearing Godly children.  Hold your head high.  Single mom, are you struggling to keep it together as you try to be a mom and dad to your kids?  God has not forgotten you!  He promises to be a father to the fatherless.(Psalm 68:5)  Those children need to see your confidence in the Lord.  Keep going!  Single lady, do you feel insignificant as you go to work each day and come home to an empty house?  God has a purpose for your life.  Please feel important to Him today, not just “someday, if your situation changes.”  He loves you, now.  Dear lady with poor health.  Do not feel useless?, Even if you are homebound, God knows where you are, and you can still glorify Him with your life.  Widow, please know how much God cares for you. (Deut. 10:18) There is still so much you can do for Him and for others.

So, take heart!  Your life matters.  What you do with today is a vital part of your life as a whole.  Take this one day, and give it your best!  Let’s focus on what we can do:

  1. We all can praise God. We were born to praise God.  This is how we glorify Him each day, no matter what tasks we perform.  Think of the thousands of great things about God.  Praise Him for Who He is, and for what He has done for you.  Each of us can and should praise the Lord throughout each day.
  2. Pray for others. No matter what our situation, we can pray for others.  This gives even the most confined, limited person a great power!  God can use us to affect change in the lives of millions through the power of prayer.  Let’s use this amazing resource each day of our lives.

As you search for significance in your everyday life, realize that God is looking at the end result right now, and He sees a life filled with purpose and meaning as we glorify Him each day, through each task.  Your life is so important to Him!!!

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash