If you want to start a big fire, you must first light something small – you have to start with tinder and kindling. If we want to see big spiritual change this year in our lives, marriages, families, church, and communities, we first need to start with kindling our spiritual fire in being faithful in the little things. Here are 7 ‘little’ things to remember as we head into the new year…
1. A little bit of faith can move mountains – ‘if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20). One small seed of faith as we come to Jesus is more than enough to move our mountain of sin (Luke 23:42), our mountains of doubt, and the mountain of death.
2. Don’t despise the little things – ‘who has despised the day of small things?’ (Zech 4:10, NKJV). In Zechariah’s day the older folk were disappointed by the beginnings of the new temple (Ezra 3:12-13). Sometimes our past glories can steal us of the joy that is before us (Haggai 2:9). Let us not despise the small steps forward you see in your life, your family and your church, even when it looks small compared to the glories of the past.
3. Your weakness in God’s hands is powerful – ‘God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong’ (1 Cor 1:27). God deliberately chooses those in powerless positions so he might display his power in and through us.
4. Your trembling words in God’s hands are tremendously powerful – ‘I came to you…not…with lofty speech or wisdom…I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling…in demonstration of the Spirit and of power’ (1 Cor 2:1,3,4). God’s tremendous power is demonstrated when God’s people open their trembling mouths to speak about Jesus.
5. Your limited resources in God’s hands are unlimited – “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”(John 6:9). This boys lunch box reminds us that if we offer the little that we already have, Jesus will do more than we can imagine.
6. Giving a small amount, out of your small account, is pleasing in God’s sight – ‘a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins…And [Jesus] called his disciples to him and said to them, “…this poor widow has put in more than all…’ (Mark 12:42-43). This poor woman reminds us that it pleases Jesus when he sees us giving sacrificially, even when that is only a few small coins.
7. Your gifts, that you feel are insignificant, are indispensable – ‘the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable’ (1 Cor 12:22). It is often the gifts that are not displayed at the front of church life (like, ‘helping, administrating’ 1 Cor 12:28) that are the very gifts that are key in enabling the church to move forward in personal growth and reaching the world.
Let us make 2023 the year where we see great things happen as we pursue faithfulness to Jesus in the ‘little’ things.
‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.’ (Matthew 25:23)
© 2023 Roger Tanton
