Little things matter!

I seem to believe that God is incredibly situational. He is not coincidental, He is purposeful. God places us in our specific lives and all the circumstances we find ourselves in for a reason. We may not see it, and we may never find it in our lifetime, but I have faith that one day, when we reach heaven, God will tell us why we did what we did on Earth and everything will suddenly all make sense.
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see." - Hebrews 11:1 NIV
Faith is being a completely dependent creature. It's putting our lives, our minds, our hearts on the line in the trust that there is someone bigger than us who cares. But how do we live by it? How do we take this faith and put it into our weak lives where nothing world-changing ever happens?
We put it into the little things.
Faith is counting on reason. We can't see it; God can. I often struggle when I am full of the wonder of God and on a spiritual high, to then come back to things like schoolwork and practising musical instruments. Why should I worry about such worldly things when there's a world to be changed? I want to do big things, not maths equations. I want to be studying God's Word, not Mozart's violin concerto. So why aren't the opportunities coming? Why am I stuck here doing things that are seemingly worthless?
It's like starting a new job. You aren't automatically given the biggest, most important jobs that hold the future of the company in their hands. You start with the small things, the tasks that seem quite small and meaningless, but they have to be done. And gradually, as you get better and more accomplished and start to learn the ways of the company, you move up and receive jobs that mean a lot more.
It's the same with God. We won't be given the massive, world-changing opportunities before we learn to do the little things. God puts us in these situations, at school, work and home, to learn how to be like Him. It's where our training begins. And once we master the small things, gradually we'll be 'promoted' to bigger things.
I think one of the most commonly-heard sentences among this generation is "I hate school" or "What's the point of school?" I didn't see a point. Sure, it would teach us and help us to get a job, but who cares about school when we have God?
If we enter into our everyday activities with the same attitude as Jesus, we are learning. We may not understand the Godly reason for us learning about the French Revolution, but we can trust that God is using it. We should care about the little things because they are where God places us, and they are where God prepares us. God challenged me to go into every class and every music practise session with Jesus' attitude, thinking positively and expecting Him, in the long run, to teach me how to have patience and a God-serving heart. He wants us to try our best and honour His ways in everything we do for Him, not for ourselves. So if God wants me to sit there and write an essay on Shakespeare, I'll do it! And I'll do it willingly and positively, having faith in my belief that one day, God will use me for greater things than I could ever imagine. My training may involve sitting through hours of geography skills, but if that's what God wants me to do, then so be it.
Another encouragement is to challenge yourself to act as you would with Jesus sitting beside you (which, I might add, He actually is...). If Jesus gave me my chemistry homework, how much more effort would I put into it than every other day?! And the truth is, He does. God puts us into our life and our situation, and therefore He is asking us to do whatever comes with that.
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 2:5 NIV
"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing." - Philippians 2:12-16 NIV