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In her hymn “Father, I Know That All My Life,” Anna Waring wrote:
I ask thee for the daily strength,
to none that ask denied,
a mind to blend with outward life,
while keeping at thy side,
content to fill a little space,
if thou be glorified.
Having been steeped in the digital age for quite some time, most of us are painfully aware of how challenging it is to be “content to fill a little space.” We nod our heads and agree that, yes, we are limited creatures who can be in only one place at one time, while we distractedly wade through a world of rapidly developing technology that would have us think otherwise.
One small tool in my pocket declares: “Limitations? No way! You can learn to speak Chinese, text five friends living in five different states, order winter coats for the entire family, get a readable summary of Augustine’s Confessions, and file your taxes—all while you stand in front of the stove and stir a pot of oatmeal.”
How easy it is to forget the truth that we are limited people taking up a little bit of space for “a little time” (James 4:14). Every day, we have a fresh opportunity to glorify and enjoy God in that little space. If we’re honest, however, our minds are often not blended with the humbling realities of outward life because either we are ambitiously pushing back against their limitations or we are frozen in a captivated (or overwhelmed) gaze on possibilities—things that we could know, could achieve, could possess, or could change.
Proverbs 17:24 says, “The discerning his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.” The discerning man seeks to understand what is true about his Creator, himself, and the world he inhabits, and then to live accordingly. His space may be small and his limits many, but he thrives and bears fruit because he does not avoid facing what is right in front of him. He knows the right thing to do and does it (see James 4:17). He is zealous for good works, and he does them, because his time and energy are spent in response to fact, not fantasy.
Not so the fool. Reality bores and frustrates him. He grasps for satisfaction and purpose outside his little space, imagining that if only he had more time, more money, more freedom, more knowledge, he could be and do something great. Setting his eyes “on the ends of the earth” is his unsuccessful escape route that ends only in more fruitless disappointment.
What good works and growth in godliness might the Lord have for you in the little space you take up today? Our lives are a vapor, and very soon the little time spent there will be complete. We can spend that time begrudging or denying its smallness. Or we can roll up our sleeves, get to work, and enjoy the sweet satisfaction of a small life lived to the praise of an infinite God.