Don’t Think the Small Doesn’t Matter
When you see a beautiful oak tree with its wide-spreading limbs that seem to span forever, do you see the single acorn that once upon a time gave it birth? We see the big and majestic tree, but it had to start as a small seed. That's how God works. He takes the small, and He goes big.
When the Israelites were going to possess the Promised Land, God said, "Little by little I will drive your enemies out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land" (Exodus 23:30). He started small, slowly decreasing the enemies, because He wanted His people to go big. He wanted them to grow their own capacity to be able to handle what He was going to give them in the future. He didn't want the land to overtake them. He wanted them to overtake the land. God was increasing them incrementally throughout their journey.
God wants to increase us, but oftentimes we overlook the small things because we want to go big. We may even think that we don't have to deal with something small because it's not going to make that much difference anyway. It's easy to think that how we're treating our spouse or all the complaining we do about our job doesn't really matter. Perhaps there's a lack of integrity, leaving the office early, thinking the boss isn't looking. And on top of that, too often we think we don't have the right education or the finances or the right people connections to achieve our dreams.
All of that may seem small, but God says what we believe and our attitudes are very important. The small things matter to Him, and if we don't learn to handle the small, we'll never go big. Perhaps you need to forgive someone or start being on time at work. Perhaps it's to turn off a certain movie or to stop listening to what isn't good. Remember that it's only "little by little" that you can go big. You want a great marriage. You want that promotion. You have to do what's right in the small things.
In March 2018, we went to the funeral service of the great evangelist Billy Graham and celebrated the life of a man who touched millions for God. Over the years, we saw his big life, but we didn't see the small things he dealt with every day for ninety years--the choices, the care he gave his family, the things he said no to, the right things he did when no one was watching. We see the big but not the small.
Remember, a majestic oak tree starts with a small seed.
When the Israelites were going to possess the Promised Land, God said, "Little by little I will drive your enemies out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land" (Exodus 23:30). He started small, slowly decreasing the enemies, because He wanted His people to go big. He wanted them to grow their own capacity to be able to handle what He was going to give them in the future. He didn't want the land to overtake them. He wanted them to overtake the land. God was increasing them incrementally throughout their journey.
God wants to increase us, but oftentimes we overlook the small things because we want to go big. We may even think that we don't have to deal with something small because it's not going to make that much difference anyway. It's easy to think that how we're treating our spouse or all the complaining we do about our job doesn't really matter. Perhaps there's a lack of integrity, leaving the office early, thinking the boss isn't looking. And on top of that, too often we think we don't have the right education or the finances or the right people connections to achieve our dreams.
All of that may seem small, but God says what we believe and our attitudes are very important. The small things matter to Him, and if we don't learn to handle the small, we'll never go big. Perhaps you need to forgive someone or start being on time at work. Perhaps it's to turn off a certain movie or to stop listening to what isn't good. Remember that it's only "little by little" that you can go big. You want a great marriage. You want that promotion. You have to do what's right in the small things.
In March 2018, we went to the funeral service of the great evangelist Billy Graham and celebrated the life of a man who touched millions for God. Over the years, we saw his big life, but we didn't see the small things he dealt with every day for ninety years--the choices, the care he gave his family, the things he said no to, the right things he did when no one was watching. We see the big but not the small.
Remember, a majestic oak tree starts with a small seed.