Posted on by jwlozano

Faithful in the Little Things

This morning I was reading Luke 16, the parable of the shrewd manager. The story begins with a manager who is about to lose his job because he has been wasting his master’s resources. Knowing his time is running out, he takes action and begins settling accounts.

As Jesus explains the lesson, He makes a powerful statement:

“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.” (Luke 16:10)

For years, this has been something God has continually brought back to my attention.

Many of us have big dreams. We feel God has placed desires in our hearts, ministries we want to build, people we want to impact, opportunities we hope will come. But often, while we’re waiting, we spend more time complaining about what we don’t have than being faithful with what we do have.

Why would God trust us to speak to thousands if we aren’t preparing well to speak to twenty?

Why would He increase our income if we’re not managing the money we already have?

Why would He expand our influence if we’re not stewarding the opportunities right in front of us?

The truth is that preparation happens long before promotion.

Faithfulness looks like showing up to work on time. It looks like handling our responsibilities with integrity. It looks like being honest with our time, our finances, our relationships, and our commitments. It looks like serving wholeheartedly, even when nobody notices.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about this with my blog and with women’s ministry. Neither one is reaching the world right now, and that’s okay. My responsibility isn’t to make them bigger. My responsibility is to be faithful with what God has already placed in my hands.

God doesn’t ask us to be successful by the world’s standards. He asks us to be faithful.

So today, instead of focusing on what you wish you had, take inventory of what God has already entrusted to you. Are you stewarding it well?

Because often the little things we’re tempted to overlook are the very things God uses to prepare us for what’s next.

Posted on by jwlozano

Little by Little

I started running back in 2018, and lately I’ve been sharing a little more about my running journey. I really enjoy running, but I wasn’t able to run for the last three years. It’s been really nice to finally get back out there again.

When I first started back in February, it was hard. I look back now at my pace, and it took me a long time just to do a little bit, but I’m really glad I started anyway. I’m the type of person that when I jump into something, I go all in. I want to move fast, progress fast, and do more right away. But this year, when I started running again, I told myself, “I really need to take my time,” because I wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing too much too soon.

Honestly, it was hard to hold back sometimes. I felt like I could do more or go faster, but I’m glad I took my time. The Bible talks about in Ecclesiastes how there is a season and a time for everything, and how God makes everything beautiful in its time.

When I first started back running, it wasn’t beautiful. It would take me almost 45 minutes to run three miles, which for some people might even be a walking pace. But that’s where I was, and I’m thankful I didn’t let comparison discourage me or make me want to quit.

Now, I can run three miles much faster than that, and it only happened because I allowed my strength and fitness to come back little by little.

That phrase, “little by little,” reminds me of Exodus 23:30, where God says, “Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.”

I love that verse because sometimes we want everything to happen immediately. We want instant growth, instant strength, instant results. But God often works little by little because He’s growing us in the process. Sometimes we are not ready yet for the full thing we’re asking for, and growth takes time.

This is a lesson I’ve had to apply throughout my whole life.

When I wrote my book from 2021 through 2023, I had to write it little by little too. I was homeschooling, still new to homeschooling, and I didn’t have large chunks of free time. I didn’t release my book until 2024, but little by little adds up.

Whatever feels overwhelming to you right now, start little by little.

Maybe you have a huge room you need to declutter. Work on it for 5 or 10 minutes, then come back tomorrow and do another 5 or 10 minutes.

Maybe you want to organize the 24,182 pictures on your phone. Set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes and organize a few at a time.

We live in such an all-or-nothing society, and sometimes that mindset can become part of our personality too. But the truth is, you can accomplish a lot little by little.

I hope this encourages you today.

Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

So whatever feels insurmountable to you right now, just know that with the help of the Lord, and with the willingness to keep moving forward little by little, you can do it. You can make progress, and you can see success.