“And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.” Daniel 3:27
A lion without teeth and claws is no real threat and flames devoid of the power to burn and devour can do no real harm.
In Daniel 3, there is the very familiar story of the three Hebrew boys facing the fiery furnace. Although familiar, the story begs us to look further into it because the fire should have killed them. The fire should have burned every part of their being to ash with flames so high. The fire should have disintegrated everything about these men and there shouldn’t have been even anything left over to collect, but it was not given the power or the ability to do so.
What a miracle!
I must wonder, what did it look like for these men as they were standing in the flames and looking out without feeling the heat, just the safety of God covering them through it all?
Amazing!
Fire eats up and ravages things every day but when God is in the midst, it has no power!
The enemy was left astonished . . .
No parts of the fire or the furnace experience had any effect on them whatsoever . . .
The only effect it may have had on them was to increase their faith all the more!
Somebody needed to be reminded of this today. I don’t know what flames are trying to ignite against you today, but if He chooses, God can put it out or use it for His glory. Either way, one can never go wrong by trusting in Him.
He will cause the enemy to be astonished before you, amazed that you are still standing. Just like the three Hebrews boys, He will not only cause you to stand in the midst of the powerless flames, but He will allow you to walk around in it giving testimony to the power of the true God you serve.
Flames may be fierce, but God is fiercer! The enemy will try to burn you up, but God can use those flames to promote you (vs. 30) if you will just worship Him, believe, and trust that He has you in the midst of it all, because when you are on God’s side:
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“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19
Some weeks can be like a crazy schedule gone wild. The rush from one thing to another can drain us of any free time and we fall behind in our daily upkeep. When that happens and you wake the next morning after all the rushing about, you realize the evidence of your busyness is staring you in the face. What in the world happened here! Do messes multiply at night while we are asleep because we really believe it did not look that bad the night before? It always amazes me how easy it is for things to get disorganized and cluttered when we’re not giving them the attention they deserve.
Disorganization throws me off big time. When I’m trying to concentrate on a task and I lift my head up to look around and am spattered with a mess, my mind keeps going to the mess instead of getting back to the mission. Clutter is its own monster to deal with because when schedules grow out of hand, and stuff gets tossed to the side, the clutter monster gets fed and continues to grow and grow. Then, I wonder, “Where did all of this come from?”
When I first got married many years ago, I used to be a perfectionist. While I’m not as uptight as I used to be about a messy house, I still like cleanliness. A place for everything and everything in its place. Calm. Peaceful. Quiet. Yeah, that’s how I like it! It’s an environment that supports what I want to do in life.
Our spiritual lives operate in much the same way. When we are going off in many directions and not taking care of our home, our “temples,” things become disarrayed. We become less focused on taking care of the “home” business, and in our pursuits, our spiritual house becomes a mess.
Inattentiveness will do that. There are so many things that can capture our attention in our day-to-day activities. We have to be diligent guardsmen of the temple that keeps everything running smoothly. Take a museum for instance. It is probably one of the cleanest and most orderly establishments I have ever visited. The stuff that it holds inside is very valuable and some of it could never be replaced. Because of that, there are guards posted everywhere to ensure that everything is kept that way. When the sign says no photography, the guard will make sure no pictures will be taken. Flash does something to some of the works. You will not eat, drink, touch, or sneeze on any artwork. Our local museum has a line around each item and you better be careful not to cross it, or else.
Being that the Spirit we have in us is of more value than any artwork, irreplaceable and priceless, ought we not to guard it with even more diligence? Shouldn’t we be concerned about any messes or clutter that could disrupt the Spirit’s flow of working within us?
Paul thought so. The concern is that since God’s Spirit resides in you, you have the responsibility to keep the house clean. This body is a rental. It’s not permanent. The last part of our above verse tells us, “And ye are not your own?” We don’t hold the deed: “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s,” (1 Corinthians 6:20). But we are responsible for the upkeep of the property.
What mess of the spirit has us so cluttered and disorganized that we are less attentive to the things of God? When the spiritual house is a mess it’s hard to function and find peace to complete the task that God is leading us to. We need to respect this spiritual house as one does when visiting a museum.
How do we keep it in order? First, start by having a made-up mind to set priorities. Know that above all else your relationship with God has to come first. One way to do that is to find out what has been sidetracking you and make it fall into place. Then, change your focus of thought to allow the Spirit freer access to move. Unclutter your thought life from that which does not profit to something far better. The Bible advises us: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things,” (Philippians 4:8). Using this as a filter will help keep the clutter out and rampant thoughts under control.
In verse 9, Paul goes on to explain if they listen to this advice and follow his example, “the God of peace shall be with you.” That means the house is clean and uncluttered, free for Him to move!
If you feel like you are having a hard time connecting with God or you don’t feel the Spirit moving and leading like you once did, check the environment. If you find a need to pick some things up off of that spiritual floor and get things back in order, then do so. There is nothing more precious or powerful than God being able to work in a “house” unhindered, with no messes or obstacles in the way.
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“The anointing is me is not as strong as another.”
“I can’t do this.”
“I don’t have enough to work with.”
“I am too small.”
“I don’t have someone supporting me like that.”
Have you ever struggled with the idea of you don’t have enough in you to make a difference or a positive impact? Do you feel God pulling you into an area of faith but the fear that your “little bit of stuff” is not enough and it’s holding you back?
Many people struggle with thoughts such as these. If it’s not big, it won’t work. But God never called us into big things. But, what He did do was call us to step out in faith believing in Him, in where He wants to take us.
There is to be no inferiority complex among God’s people. We are not depending on what we bring to the table. Our dependence is upon Him and what He does with what we bring. God is the one that establishes the work of our hands (Psalms 90:17). God is the one who gives the increase off of what we do (1 Corinthians 3:7). Therefore, it doesn’t matter what we think of the size of what we bring because God is the one working behind the scenes; God is the one who works in it to outsize all.
All He asks of us is to step out in faith and work with what He gave us.
“For who hath despised the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10). Every great tree that stands tall in the forest started from a small thing; from a seed. Your “small thing” is the seed of your gift that God is waiting for you to plant so that He can cause it to grow. An unplanted seed will not flourish and neither will your gift.
Don’t shun it because you think it’s not big enough. Don’t toss it to the side because you think it’s not good enough and doesn’t matter. It’s not about what you bring; it’s all about what He does with what you bring.
Luke 16:10 tells us, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much . . .” God wants to see what you do with the “least” before He turns it into “much.” Won’t you plant your little seed today?
Little stuff matters. If you don’t think so, take encouragement from these little critters:
“There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer,
The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have not king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces,” (Proverbs 30:24-28).
You see, it’s not about size or strength, but the wisdom God gives to those who render their little bit of stuff to Him in service. Size doesn’t matter to God because He is the God of increase. What matters most with God is our faithfulness in rendering what we do have to Him and trusting Him to let it grow.
“Little things make big things happen” (John Wooden).
Especially, when God is in it. So, don’t cast it off. Work it!
If looking at a valley of dead bones isn’t enough, then what follows would have blown my mind! God does some pretty amazing things in the Bible and this by far has to be one of my favorite stories that display His complete sovereignty and grace. It’s one thing to hear of people being brought back from the dead and it’s quite another to see the process unfold in such an extraordinary way, even if it is in a wonderful vision.
Can you imagine experiencing that moment with God, and Him asking what is supposedly a simple but not-so-simple question? “Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ez. 37:3). That question must’ve rolled through his mind, stunning him a bit. Awestruck, his response was as I believe mine would have been, “O Lord God, thou knowest” (Ez. 37:3).
At that point, I believe Ezekiel was probably starting to realize in a whole new way the magnitude of this wonderful God we serve. Looking out over the valley that he was drawn to, and seeing the waste of what was once life and trying to imagine them alive? His response was to appeal to the sovereignty of God – “You know!”
God does know, but perhaps He wants us to know that He knows. Right? It may sound confusing but God puts these questions out there to see where our belief lies. To see if we really see Him as the One who is in control of everything, including those things that appear utterly dead and beyond the hope of restoration.
I don’t know personally how it may have looked, but I can imagine the scene in my head. Going about through that place and seeing nothing but human remains here and there. I would have begun pondering all the “what’s, who’s, why’s and how’s” all this came to pass. What battle took place? Who was involved? Why did it have to come to this? How is it that there were none left to bury the dead? There before him, was a mass of unanswered questions covering a sea of death.
I wonder about that scene with the appearance of bodies upon bodies, stacked and scattered throughout. Lives were gone here and there remained nothing but death and dry bones. Nothing to cheer about, nothing to hope for if it were not for that question that came from the mouth of the Lord: “Can these bones live?”
Death in reverse? Is that what God was asking, he must have wondered? Taking an impossible act of nature and reenacting the process in rewind mode? If the question wasn’t enough, how about the command: “Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” (Ez. 37:4). Standing reverently but in utter stupefaction, Ezekiel must have known that he was at a point of no return in his ministry. God was drawing him deeper into the process. “I don’t know about this,” may have been what most would be thinking as they did as He commanded.
What would it have been like? At the spoken command, to hear an unsettling sound. A noise permeates the atmosphere. Rattling began to disturb the quiet of the valley. In a place that knew only demise and decay would now be re-identified as something miraculous. The rattle was with purpose. It meant things were moving into their proper place. It meant brokenness was being made whole. It was the start of a brand new life where there was none before. This was incredible to not only witness but to be a part of!
After the re-attachment of limbs and other skeletal remains, the real stuff transpired. It’s one thing for bones to find their host bodies and reattach themselves. It’s quite another to witness those very bones, and the nothingness that was left, begin to take on a new life. Sinews and flesh began to re-cover the bleached, parched surfaces. All the while, Ezekiel just watches. What would you do? Like a train wreck, as horrible as it may seem you can’t tear your eyes away from it. Under it all, organs started to reform and the life supply of veins maneuvered their way throughout, spreading the possibility for more life.
But God was not done, yet. He was genuinely reversing the life process. The bodies were now formed and covered “but there was no breath in them” (Ez. 37:8). Then, God gave him a new command: “Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live” (Ez. 37:9). Ezekiel followed God’s command and said, “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” (Ez. 37:10). Before they stood, did they gasp at the feel of air entering their lungs once again? When they stood, did they turn to each other recognizing the “what was” and processing the “what is now?”
To see dead bones live in this fashion would have been awesome and beautiful. Think about it. God showed Ezekiel an impossible situation and did a complete turnaround and restored life where only death resided (compare to Israel’s spiritual restoration found in Ezekiel 37:11-14). It’s as if He had His finger on the hands of some big clock and purposefully began to rotate it backward. Spinning it and spinning it until all the death that once was had to let go and make room for new life to come to the forefront once again. What would it have been like to witness this vision?
Don’t you know? We may have not been bones but what remained of us of what the world stripped away was given a new command in the valley. The valley, our lowest point of life, was shaken and rattled until it stood at the command of God. Our lifelessness was renewed when His Spirit breathed in us freshness untold. Before He had a vision of us, we were surrounded by spiritual death. But then there arose potential out of nothingness. Captured by grace and loved on through His mercy, we received in us His gift of a second chance.
There are a lot of things in that particular vision of the valley that would have left me unsettled but I only had to turn to the One who was commanding the change in me and see the love in His eyes for me. I only had to look and believe as He did that, there is something alive here, there is something that can be raised up for me. We have all been in that valley. Vision or not, many have been to the place of impossibility just to see Him make it possible.
To see those bones rise to new life and live would have been awesome. But to see what He has done in us is far better. I don’t know what it would have been like there but I know what it is like here. The Bible says, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection,” (Romans 6:4-5). Because of Christ, we have received another chance to experience a new life outside of the valley. Just because it appears dead, doesn’t mean it’s so. God can raise up the most impossible of situations.
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“For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer…” Philippians 1:19
There is so much hurt going on in the body of Christ. Saints are going through trials and tribulations like never before. As the days draw to a close, a time when our Lord Jesus Christ will come back to whisk us away to glory, the enemy has been on a vehement rampage against God’s people everywhere.
Paul, when he wrote his letter to the Philippian church, knew something of hardships. He was imprisoned and put in a place of affliction and hurt. So, when he writes of the faith he has, that the saints will help pray for his deliverance, he knew what he was talking about.
There is a wonderful bond in the body of Christ that is like no other. Unity, love, and compassion mean so much to our survival that our very witness to the world depends on it. There has been, over the past few years, an awareness of how we have hurt not only one another but our witness before the world through gossiping and the tearing down of one another.
Jesus Himself said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another,” (John 13:35). Having sincere love toward another means that we would want what’s best for them. Even if it means exalting somebody higher than yourself; putting the petitions of prayer that someone else so desperately needs above your own.
We often hear the encouragement that, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,” (James 5:16). To avail means that we have a God-given right to have the upper hand, through prayer, against any foe that would dare to rise up against one of God’s anointed ones. How are we using that advantage? Are we selfishly gleaning all the grapes off the vine of blessings for ourselves, or do we have enough Christian courage to let another feast off of your effectual, fervent prayers before you get a taste?
Paul openly admitted on several occasions how much he was dependent upon the prayers of those who had his back in ministry. Despite his supposed super saint/apostleship position, he realized that the sweet aromas of selfless petitions were being put up to God on his behalf. Because of that, he was assured that he would see deliverance.
How much care and emphasis do you really put on the body of Christ when you bow the knee to the Father? How much is that hunger in you to see the salvation of the unsaved of your family and friends being fed? Do you really believe that not only will your prayers move mountains in your life but also in the life of another? You may be their only hope, whether they are born or again or not, to draw near to God and receive deliverance.
Paul puts it best in 1 Corinthians 13:1 where he says, “Though I speak with tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” Are you just making a lot of noise when you pray or are you busting the gates of hell loose because your heart is hurting for another? It was Abraham Lincoln that was quoted as saying, “I am sorry for the man who can’t feel the whip when it is laid on the other man’s back.”
There are some “whips” being laid on others; some burdens that you can help someone else carry if only we would do as the Philippian church did and pray. Not just any prayer, but prayers that will let our brothers and sisters know assurance of seeing deliverance, too.
If you want to see true restoration in your own life, learn to put the needs of others before your own. Job 42:10 states, “The Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends.” We are to be a people who step in that place of praying for others and petitioning heaven on their behalf. It was not until Job prayed for his friends were his losses restored.
Let’s work today in hedging people in under the arc of safety, the covering of prayer, so they will finally see deliverance, too. There may be a hurting soul quietly pleading for someone to, “Please, Pray Me Through to My Deliverance.”
A shepherd boy who had been forgotten when Samuel came to call, David was treated as a “less than” by everyone who knew him the most, except God.
God, looking past his outer array saw something special in him. He instructed Samuel to, “Arise, anoint him: for this is he,” (1 Samuel 16:12). Following God’s lead, “Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward,” (1 Samuel 16:13).
Not only had he been empowered and anointed by God’s Spirit on that day, but his life has never been the same since then. Because of the anointing in his life, David experienced ups and downs; he experienced victories, and he experienced times of loss. But in the end, he is still known as one of Israel’s greatest kings; as the bloodline through whom our Lord Jesus Christ came, and as a man after God’s own heart, Acts 13:22.
What David gained, Saul lost. As David became empowered by God’s Spirit, Saul was stripped of this anointed pleasure and replaced by something evil, 1 Samuel 16:14. This made David a continual target of hatred and adversity. What started out as a relationship of love (1 Samuel 16:21) quickly turned to envy and hatred after David returned from the slaughter of the Philistines because the women of the city sang, “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands,” (1 Samuel 18:7).
Saul knew he was on a downward spiral and as a bird of prey perched to claim his next victim, “Saul eyed David from that day and forward,” (1 Samuel 18:9). Even when David was sent to relieve Saul of the distressing spirit that had come upon him, his life became an endangered treasure as the javelin of hatred whisked through the air intent on taking his life, 1 Samuel 18:10-11.
The LORD was with David. The people loved David. The anointing was on David, but that didn’t mean people wouldn’t try to squash what God was trying to accomplish in his life. David was at times a fugitive, constantly on the run, but he escaped time and again in what I am attributing to the providence of God.
At one point, in a dark cave in the wilderness of En-gedi, David had the opportunity to rid himself of the provocation of Saul once and for all. Yet, David refused to come against anything or anyone who had once been anointed by God, 1 Samuel 24:6.
This did not immediately vanquish Saul’s pursuit of David. Not until Saul perished in the battle against the Philistines did David become free of this enemy who pursued his life, 1 Samuel 31.
Hear this, we may not be aligned to be a great king of Israel or the like, but the Bible tells us, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people,” (1 Peter 2:9a). The anointing on your life makes you and me something and someone special before God.
The rest of 1 Peter 2:9 states, “That ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” Because God has poured His oil of anointing, through the power of His Holy Spirit, upon each and everyone that belongs to Him, we are designed to make a mark for Him in this world.
This anointing will bring enemies and battles, and yes, at times may seem dangerous, yet, “He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God,” (2 Corinthians 1:21). God is the one that has anointed us, and “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
Through Jesus Christ; through the power of His Spirit in us, we have been called and blessed to walk in the power of all God designed each one of us to be. Don’t let your circumstances dictate your anointing. Don’t let the Sauls of your life pierce through what God has divinely appointed for you. David ran for his life yet God’s plan for him never faltered. He was set aside for the Master’s use, and so are we.
There will always be adversity against God’s anointing, but if God anointed you choose today to walk in all that He has blessed you to be. Your anointing may seem dangerous at times, but in the end, it is well worth it. Just ask David.
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“Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit,” Jeremiah 2:11, KJV
Changing your glory?! What does that even mean? It means anything that takes precedence over your worship of the one true God. It’s exchanging the life that was once rendered to service and obedience to God, to fulfill one’s own will and desires.
In God, we have love and security. In Him, we find peace, refuge, and salvation. Yet, every day the battle ensues for us to give it all up to follow after that which “does not profit.” It reminds me of the story of the prodigal son. He had a hard time seeing what he really had going for him at home where he was. He thought the grass was greener on the other side and his perception of the other side drew him away from the blessedness he already had. He gave up everything his father secured for him to go off in the wild blue yonder to pursue his own desires.
Such was the calamity that befell the Israelites also. They had exchanged the worship of the one true God to follow after idols. This same God, whom throughout history, has sought to love them, protect them and pour out His promises on them. He has stomped down enemies for them. He has overthrown kingdoms for them. He has multiplied them, blessed them, led them, covered them, fed them and saved them. Yet, they had reached a point when they decided in themselves that they needed more.
I once heard someone teach that grass is still grass, no matter what “side” it’s on. Here, the prodigal son and the Israelites have been deceived into believing more in the imagination of the “other side” than in the reality of the powerful love they already had. It’s a truth thing! We have to be sure that truth is not misinterpreted because it can hinder one’s growth or cause one to step all the way out of the faith to the point of changing their glory.
From the beginning of time truth has been under attack and glory has been fought against. But, Hebrews 10:35 tells us, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward,” (KJV). In the garden, Adam and Eve cast away their confidence and believed deception. The Israelites cast away their confidence and went after that which does not profit. The prodigal son cast his confidence away and broke the relationship between him and his father. The book of Hebrews was written to the saints – to the church – to them already in a relationship with God through Christ, and the yellow tape of “CAUTION” has been spread out! It is warning those who are thinking about following the footsteps of those I mentioned. Hebrews is encouraging them not to give up on their faith! Don’t break your relationship with God! Don’t exchange your glory!
There are a lot of things and imaginations that seek to draw you away. Hebrews teaches that if we will just hold on to the truth, to the confidence, the reward is coming! 1 Corinthians 15:58 supports this by admonishing us to “. . . be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord, (KJV). If you stay rooted in the Lord, it will all pay off in a little while. It’s not in vain! Don’t change your glory!
Hold on! “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise,” (Hebrews 10:36, KJV). Wait for it! Do His will! Receive His promises! But, don’t change your glory! “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back into perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul,” (Hebrews 10:38-39, KJV).
There are many things that appear to profit but end in ruin. Ask Adam and Eve, or the prodigal son, or even the ancient Israelites. They suffered from the choices they made. Today, we can look at their examples and decide to do it differently. We don’t mock them, but we learn from them what we don’t want to do. And, we don’t want to change our glory!
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Today, like most days here lately, it’s rainy, dreary and of the dismal sort. It’s the kind of cold, wet rain that settles down in your bones which you can’t seem to warm up from. It makes you want to crawl back under the covers and wait for a better day.
But real life is here with a call each and every day that must be answered, compelling us to rise and get going no matter what the weather is outside. Answering that call on a morning such as this, I remember one day when I drove across the highway to take my daughter to her college campus. On the way home I saw something that put a smile on my face. A man was walking in the rain with a bright orange raincoat. He was literally bouncing along with happiness in his steps. His mouth was moving and he appeared to be singing. It was as if he was dictating his day; as if he was telling the rain he was not going to let the dreariness get him down.
Oh, how true does that ring out in life? How many dreary situations have kept us from enjoying the day; from enjoying each and every moment God has given us above ground? Unfortunately, as life goes on we find that every day is not peaches and cream. Times of trouble and hardship can arouse the rainy day blues in anybody.
Psalm 137:4 asks, “How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?” How many times have we felt it hard to work up the happiness inside when going through difficult times? But Psalm 43:5 declares, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”
In other words, Sing in the Rain!
I feel like getting on board with the attitude of the guy in the orange raincoat. There you can catch me Singing in the Rain today, too. After all, we still have a reason to praise God no matter what. My hope for this day and every day is in Him.
There are few places in life where it seems anything associated with the word little is appreciated. And while our culture and this world tend to only see the big things, the grand, the outlandishly oversized as important to regard, the Bible continually teaches us that those things that we consider to be little, mean so much more.
For instance, Psalm 37:16 lets us know, “A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.” It’s all a matter of where value is placed. The values that the righteous man has within him because of his relationship with God far exceed the value of things, stuff, and money many wicked together can possess. Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven . . .” (Mt. 6:19-20). Little possessions may not account for much here, but a heart rich in Jesus is worth so much more, here, and in heaven.
Another thing our culture celebrates is the idea of success, especially what appears to be an instant or overnight success. In an age where clicks to like can boost an “influencer’s” reputation or clout, it Is not hard to imagine the rise of some to happen so quickly. And yet, the Bible asks this in Zechariah: “For who hath despised the day of small things?” (4:10).
All success is not bad. In fact, we are encouraged many times in the Bible to work, work hard, and put in full effort. But what is bad is the worship of success and the comparison trap it can bring. The groundwork of what God wants to do in your life is going to need an awesome foundation, and any good foundation takes time to build.
Clicks, likes, and human recognition may not have you shooting ahead fast as lightning, but your progress in God, your progress in what and how He is leading you to build, is worth so much more, even if it takes a little bit longer.
A little in God’s kingdom can do mighty works. And the Bible teaches us “if ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed” (Lk. 17:6; Mt. 17:20, and 21:21), you can do amazing things. It’s not always about increasing, as the disciples once asked (Lk. 17:5), it’s about working with what you presently possess. And if what you presently possess is not much, God can multiply that if you just will use your little bit.
With God, size doesn’t matter, but source does. If you look at what you have and you depend on that as your source, that is not faith – God’s not interested in that. But if He’s your authentic, true-enough source; if it is to Him you are raising your eyes to heaven, with your two fish and five little loaves (Mt. 14:17-19) – now, that kind of reliant faith is something He can work with.
Friends, I have only touched the tip of the iceberg here to teach you that with God, a little means a whole lot. But I hope it’s enough to encourage you to stop comparing where you are with another’s progress. Don’t let discouraging thoughts discount the value in you. You are important. What you have is important, no matter how any other views it, even if it appears to only be a little.
“There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.” Proverbs 30:24-28
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