I have recently read a novel called ‘The day of small things.’ It is a book I shall easily forget except for the title. No exciting events, no twists and turns in the plot, just bland every day happenings with a predictable ending.

I realized it was a quote from Zechariah 4:10, but without figuring out what that connection is, it struck me that every day life consists of small things. In my case it’s prayer and Bible study, household chores, shopping, cooking and finally going to bed again. Most days I am not doing anything special, just the same boring old repetition.

But perhaps I should not be so quick to despise these days of small things. In 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 the apostle Paul says… “inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” I do not believe God gets impatient or bored with my prayers which are often a list of the same requests I made yesterday. The scriptures I studied today I have read before, and know many of them by heart. When I am confronted by a difficult situation, an appropriate one comes to mind, bringing comfort and a sense of direction I would not otherwise have had.

“For our light and momentary troubles (you could substitute comparatively small things) are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. For we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17).”

When I watch the news and see the huge troubles of this world not being solved, the national leaders everywhere not knowing which way to turn, I should be thankful for the day of small things.

There will be the temptation to think ‘same old, same old’ but we are being renewed day by day as we store up the ‘small things’ of God’s word.