Busy Hands, Pondering Heart: Finding God in Everyday Tasks

It was an evening like many others. I was moving around our kitchen, stirring the food simmering on the stove, rinsing a dish here and there, and chopping up veggies for a salad. Occasionally, little people skipped in and out, requesting just one more tiny snack. But in the quiet moments, as my hands busied themselves with the tasks before me, my mind had time to reflect. 

It began with pondering a verse I’d read that morning, which soon flowed into recognizing how the reality of that Scripture was demonstrated around me in the everyday moments of life. Like an old-fashioned butter churn, my thoughts moved round and round, considering the various facets of this truth, and growing in awe of the depth and richness of God’s Word. What started as simple meal prep became precious time to meditate on the goodness of God and the timeless relevance of His Word.

As I look back over my first twelve years of motherhood (and really over my years as an adult, since I became a parent at twenty-one), I see countless gifts the Lord has given me. One of them—perhaps one of the most profound—is the way He has used the ordinary moments of life to draw my heart to Himself.

Seeing God in the Ordinary

As I’ve prepared meals, cared for my kids, sorted mail, or folded yet another overflowing basket of laundry, God has illuminated many spiritual lightbulbs—helping me connect the truths I’m reading in Scripture to the ways they should shape how I live. Sometimes it’s through a word picture that makes a passage suddenly practical; other times it’s simply that my mind has space to meditate on a particular truth while my hands stay busy. He’s shown me that regardless of how seemingly small or insignificant a task of obedience might seem, He can use it to deepen my love and understanding of Him in significant ways.

How I love your instruction!
It is my meditation all day long. (Psalm 119:97)

It’s easy to think that these daily commissions aren’t important—or at least not as important as other things we could be doing for the Lord. That feeling can be especially discouraging when, as a mom of little ones, the practical tasks fill nearly every moment from dawn till dusk (and sometimes even in the watches of the night). 

Yet these very tasks are opportunities to meditate on and live out the truths of Scripture. They can become moments of sweet fellowship with the Lord in prayer as He comforts and convicts us. It can be a time to lay our burdens at His feet and praise Him as we hum along to our favorite hymns. There is precious treasure hidden here if we choose to take hold of it. It’s one way, I believe, we can live out Paul’s charge in 1 Corinthians 10: by engaging our minds to focus on Him amid the daily tasks He has entrusted to us.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. (v. 31)

Beware the Wandering Mind

Meditating on truth is a choice, because it’s far easier to let our thoughts wander here, there, and everywhere. If we don’t intentionally direct them toward what is good, right, and true, these daily moments can become a breeding ground for anxiety, envy, bitterness, or other sins of the mind. 

Left untethered to the Word, our swirling thoughts can pull us away from the Lord and leave us susceptible to lies about Him, ourselves, others, and our circumstances. Proverbs 5:6 describes the forbidden woman as one marked by this lack of attentiveness to truth—an omission that directly impacts the course of her life: 

She doesn’t consider the path of life;
She doesn’t know that her ways are unstable.

When we recognize our dangerously wandering thoughts, we must deliberately choose to set our minds upon the Lord and His truth. And, praise God, this is possible by His grace—because of our salvation through Jesus and His Spirit that dwells within us. 

Getting Practical

So how can we intentionally turn our thoughts back to the Lord and to the things that glorify Him? Scripture offers us several helpful prompts.

Ask: Does God want me to think on this?

Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. (Philippians 4:8)

When we dwell on things that reflect the above descriptors, it brings glory to Christ. When our minds delight in the beauty outside the window, we glorify Him. When we excitedly plan our child’s birthday party, it brings glory to Him. When we ask the Lord how to handle a difficult relationship with wisdom, it glorifies Him. When we consider how a truth from Scripture can be applied in our community or country, that too brings Him glory. As a reminder to keep your thoughts fixed on what honors Christ, consider memorizing this verse or placing it somewhere you’ll see it often. 

Ask: Do I acknowledge Him in everything?

When we remember that the Lord sees and knows all our inward thoughts, we can turn them toward Him in prayer and praise. We can ask Him for wisdom, for grace, and for reminders from His Word to help us live in joyful obedience. 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, 
and do not rely on your own understanding; 
in all your ways know him, 
and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5–6)

When our heart meditations acknowledge Him, prayer becomes a natural response. We remember that He is the source of truth, goodness, and beauty—and that He alone can help us think and live in this way. As He deepens our understanding in every aspect of life, He will order our steps and increase our joy.

Ask: Do I intentionally speak truth to my heart?

Psalm 15:2 reminds us that those who belong to the Lord are the ones who acknowledge truth in their hearts. This is a deliberate choice—a choice to tell our hearts what is true. We must intentionally remind ourselves how the truths of Scripture are being illuminated in our own lives. 

It can be helpful to prompt your thinking with questions such as: What does this soapy water full of dishes reveal about His goodness? What glimmer of glory do I notice in the nearby mountain range or in my child’s giggle? How do I see spiritual realities illustrated by the shafts of light at golden hour or while pulling sneaky weeds in the garden? 

Before long, our hearts will be drawn to praise as we ponder His truth, mercy, and beauty reflected all around us—and consider how these realities apply to our lives today. 

I love the words of the psalmist at the end of Psalm 19, and I pray this will be the cry of our hearts as we set our minds on Him in the quiet, hidden moments He has assigned to us today.

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
LORD, my rock and my Redeemer. (v. 14)