Why We Need to Start Looking for God in the Small Things

I’m so excited about this post because it’s one that the Lord has convicted me on. I think in the Christian community and talking about God in general, we so often lean towards believing in God because big miracles happen or because we feel His presence in huge ways. We look for the life changing, ocean parting, mountain top experiences, and sometimes, we even build our relationship with God off of that. 

Now, hear me out. Those things are not wrong in the slightest. All of those experiences and miracles are such big blessings from God and are absolutely used to strengthen our faith and pull us closer to Him. Jesus’ whole life was defined by major moments where He made the impossible possible, and we should absolutely be believing in the Lord for those things in our lives, too. 

However, the reality is, this is not our every day. Every day is not going to be marked by resurrections and water turning to wine and massive healings. We are not going to be on the mountain tops everyday of our lives because we are human and we have so many fluctuating emotions. The problem comes in when we begin to doubt or question God because we don't feel these big things happening in our lives. We have built our faith off of the mountain top, which is not reliable or constant, and we judge the state of our relationship with God based off of our emotions - which are constantly changing, by the way.

This is not how our relationship with the Lord is meant to be and it’s not how we’re meant to live our lives. 

I believe our relationship with Jesus is meant to be more about the small, everyday encounters with Him, not about the few, once in a lifetime spiritual experiences. 

The Lord convicted me about this when I was praying over the new year and asking Him for vision. I was wanting and longing for His voice over big things, expecting to hear the big miracles and promises that He was going to accomplish within 2025. I was wanting Him to tell me how my life was going to change, either by new habits or by His Holy Spirit. I thought I was going to receive direction on what it will look like to thrive and succeed and grow, but that’s not what I heard. And I’m so grateful I didn’t.

Instead, I felt the Lord remind me to seek Him in the quiet places. To be still and slow my mind and hear His whisper. I felt so encouraged to let go of the need to cling to all of the big miracles and moments that I sometimes put my trust in, and instead be content in the stillness and simply be with God. I let go of the impressive dreams and ideas in the world’s eyes and found such peace in the slowness. I felt the Lord tell me that instead of trying to map the whole year out in the beginning, I need to seek Him in each and every day, pursuing His will and voice in every moment, every circumstance, and every question. I don't need to walk into 2025 with everything figured out, with big vision and big dreams, but instead trust that my God will lead me every day, every hour, every minute, and He will put the missions on my heart that He wants me to pursue. I am trusting that when the time is right, in His eyes, not mine, He will give me discernment over what to invest in and the areas of my life that He wants me to prioritize. I’m believing in God for the small, everyday interactions where He leads me and loves on me in such personal, intimate ways, in the middle of my mundane and regular daily activities. 

So in 2025, I’m really focusing on living each day in the secret place with my Father. I never want to leave His presence or stop seeking His voice in the “normal”, expected things. I want to believe He is working behind the scenes and appreciate the seemingly small ways that He blesses me and comes through for me. I want to be grateful for all of the little things, all of the little nudges of the Holy Spirit and words of discernment from my God, all of the little miracles. I want to be aware of His presence around me as I look for Him in the everyday, not just leaning on the huge, miraculous experiences to carry my faith. Because God is good, whether I’m on the mountain top or not, whether oceans are parting or not. And I want to bask and experience that goodness in every moment, even if it doesn’t seem impressive or incredible to the world. Because all the moments with Jesus are impressive and incredible to me. 

That, my friends, is how I’m looking for God in the small places, not just the big ones. The truth is, that’s where God most often reveals Himself. He is in the quiet whisper, not the blazing fire or gusting wind. And what a blessing that is, that He meets us in our every day and speaks to us so clearly, yet so gently and softly, calling us to slow down and encounter His presence in the middle of the noise and busy.