The spiritual journey we walk through can sometimes, without our realizing it, resemble the workings of an old wristwatch. It is not the significant components that stop the watch, but the tiny pieces that become stuck due to fine dust that has accumulated. It is not the big screw that loosens, but the small one we consider insignificant. The same is true in life: grand commitments may seem impressive, but it is the small details of daily living that determine whether those commitments endure or, slowly and quietly, weaken. The little things we often ignore can become the most significant determinants of the direction of our spiritual journey.
Jesus said, “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and whoever is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much” (Luke 16:10). Scripture does not say, “Whoever intends to do great things…” but rather, “Whoever is faithful in little things…” This verse means the accurate measure of commitment is not found in intention, determination, or grand plans we design, but in our faithfulness to the simple matters we face every day.
Many commitments collapse not because of a person’s lack of ability, but because of small things that slip by unnoticed. Relationships break not first because of explosive conflicts, but because communication gradually fades. Ministry does not dim because one stops loving God, but because basic discipline, praying before serving, is slowly neglected. Even a cold heart in faith often begins not with a massive spiritual attack, but with small habits disappearing: one day without prayer, one week without reading the Word, one small decision to stop giving thanks—until eventually it becomes a pattern of life.
Faithfulness in little things requires humility. Some things may seem too simple, too small, or too trivial to warrant attention. Yet it is there that we are being shaped. God grows our character through the small things—not the grand moments that occur once in a while. We do not become faithful because of one dramatic decision, but because of thousands of small choices made consistently.
Faithfulness in small things also teaches us to live with the awareness that every detail of our lives matters before God. When we pray for someone without them knowing, when we give thanks for simple things, when we control the words that come out of our mouths, when we choose to forgive even when we have the power and opportunity to retaliate—these are all parts of the commitment God is forming within us.
We often hope that God will entrust us with big things: a wider ministry, greater responsibilities, or bigger opportunities to be blessed. But God does not measure as people measure. He looks into the depths of the heart. He entrusts big things to those who have proven faithful in little things—not to those whose commitment is merely impulsive or emotional.
Therefore, at the beginning of this year, do not rush to make great resolutions that sound inspiring but are challenging to sustain. As God did when He called His servant Moses, God invites us to begin with what is already in our hands (cf. Exod. 4:1–2). Start with small habits we can carry out consistently, with simple things that look ordinary, with small steps that no one may notice.
Small steps repeated over time will gradually build a firm commitment. Just as a plant grows not from one large watering but from continuous small waterings every day, so our commitment grows. God desires us to be people who are faithful in the small steps we know we ought to take today. In the end, faithfulness in little things teaches us that God is not only present in the significant events of our lives, but also in the simple moments that often slip by. Through the small acts of faithfulness we practice each day, God is forming something great within us.