If I’m learning anything about “adulting”, it’s that life isn’t so much about the quantity of our achievements but the quality of them. I’ve experienced what might look like “having it all” – from having a very high salary at the age of 19 and having zero debt, to taking big trips every year, to eventually owning a home at 23 years old, to having a big wedding at 24. I like to believe that what got me there was consistency in being “faithful in the little things” and sort of “moving up” from there, but I’m realizing that “having it all” isn’t measured by material things in God’s eyes. God certainly wants us to have it all – He wants to be our all and more. He’s after our heart – having our whole heart – and He wants us to be after His, wholeheartedly, too.
I know this because from age 26-27 life took a huge turn and I found myself needing Jesus more than ever. At age 28 now, I’m making a lot less salary, I’m no longer a homeowner, I’m recovering from deep debt, and I haven’t stepped foot out of North America in a few years, yet God is still after the one thing he’s been after my whole life – my heart. At the end of the day, He cares much more about how well I’m stewarding my responsibilities than how much I’m stewarding.
Luke 16:10 says, “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities.” And Matthew 25:23 says, “His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.”
I think somewhere along the way I stopped being faithful in the little things, like praying, seeking God’s wisdom, and tithing. That’s when life got really crazy. Many of my decisions weren’t the best ones, so it’s not hard to see why things crumbled. But I feel like God found it necessary to remove some things from my life so that He could re-position me to His heart. He couldn’t put me in charge of anything more when I was struggling to be in charge of the small, and boy did I start to learn real humility!
Now, when I look at my life it’s tempting to think I don’t have as much as I did before, but I actually have MUCH more. I look at my amazing husband, my charismatic daughter, my growing baby bump, and I wonder how having a family is a “little” thing, ha! Deep down I’m dreaming of much, but I know in this season God’s asking me to be a good steward of what matters most – my character, marriage, my little people, and my sphere of influence. So until God says I’m ready for more (whatever that looks like), I’ll be responsible with what I’ve been entrusted with, and continue to seek His heart in the meantime.
MARIEL HONG
