THE SMALL THINGS

For who has despised the day of small things?
Zechariah 4:10

The world loves the spectacular. God has proven that He is certainly capable of the extraordinary, but He often chooses to work through the ordinary and seemingly insignificant. In this way, He demonstrates His love and His power, and shows us that the small things are often quite spectacular.

Christians often accept the adage “the bigger the better.” Oftentimes, we measure success by the number of people involved in our ministry. Sometimes we seek spectacular displays of God’s power. Instead, we must learn to view success as God does. God is interested in the heart; He is pleased with obedience.

Consider the following examples of “small” things:

• Throughout history, God’s answer to a critical time was to send a baby. Isaac, Moses, Samuel, John the Baptist, and Jesus were all born as answers to a time of need.
• When God delivered the Israelites from the Midianites’ oppression, He intentionally used an army of merely three hundred men to defeat a larger army. He had more soldiers available, but He preferred to demonstrate His power in the way He accomplished His purposes.
• Jesus could have enlisted a multitude of disciples to follow Him, but He chose twelve. It was not the number of disciples but the quality of their walk with Him that would determine how they affected their world.
• When Jesus fed a multitude, five loaves of bread and two fish from a boy’s lunch were sufficient in the hands of the Lord.
• Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32). The mustard seed was the smallest seed known to the Jews, yet it grew into an enormous tree.
• Jesus also likened God’s kingdom to leaven that is hardly noticeable but raises the entire batch of dough (Matthew 13:33).

As you pray today, thank God for all of the small things in your life. Ask Him to help you remember that small things are not insignificant, but rather tiny tokens of His everlasting love. Amen.

Source:
“Experiencing God Day-By-Day; The Devotional and Journal”, by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby ©1997. Entry December 8.

Additional Reading:
Raising Our Expectations
For The Lord, Not Men