“Occupy til I come.”
Luke 19:13

We live our lives day to day in the most common and unremarkable ways. Nothing flashy, hardly anything public. Day after day, hour after hour, choice after choice. We live out our little slice of history obscurely; the grand movements of ages and nations cycle ‘round us; and our lives with their smaller orbits are pulled along by vortices, seen and unseen. Strong pressures and violent vacuums suck and pull at our small frames.

How are we to live in this turbulence? Jesus said, “Occupy til I come.” Stay the course. Keep at your little life for the glory of God. The world system, and the progress of time itself, seems to steamroll, then spit out all in its path. But our little persons are not refuse; each life attracts the notice of an All-Wise Creator; none are insignificant or forgotten.

What are we to do with our little lives and the small space we live through? We are to occupy our space for God and His interests. Put our little bit into His hands: that’s all. A life of trustful Godward living is mostly undistinguished; it is a life of natural movements forward, daily duties accomplished or attempted, a workaday life, yet…though the life at first glance looks common, it moves forward according to the inner reality of a Presence acknowledged: God the Watcher, God the Audience. The psalmist expresses this reality in these lines, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” Ps. 19:14

What is our “occupation” to look like? In a simple, concise thought: “Trust in the LORD, and do good.” Psalm 37:3

“O God, may I occupy for Your glory the little slice of history that I am living through day by day.”