A devotion from Pastor Bob Gass reminded me how important “small things” are…
In the Bible in Judges: Chapter 7, God gave Gideon a huge victory over their enemy, the Midianites. The crazy thing about this victory is that God had Gideon command an army of only 300 that defeated an enemy that had hundreds of thousands soldiers! It wasn’t because there weren’t more soldiers available for Gideon’s army; it was because God wanted to demonstrate HIS power in (get this) “the day of small things.”
One day Jesus fed 5000+ people with just a few fish and loaves of bread! Small things (amounts) can go a long way if you have the right perspective on success.
The KEY here is… are you asking God to make you BIGGER or BETTER??? If you’re working hard to make yourself “bigger” instead of “better” then you may end up disappointed. If you’re a praying man, all the prayers you could possibly pray to God, in Jesus’ Name, won’t persuade God to give you what you are not ready to handle. I know! cuz… I thought I could “talk God into” blessing us with championship after championship when I first became a head coach in 1985. It took 12 years of “sanding off the rough spots” in my character and personality before God opened up the flood gates and said: “NOW, you’re ready, Lew!” From ’97 to 2015, we won 9 different championships. I had to mature, seeking Holy Spirit’s help and guidance, before God saw that I could handle all that success. I am forever grateful!
The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, “Most people would succeed in small things if they weren’t troubled with blind ambition.”
As Pastor Gass states, “Your drive to be bigger can give you ulcers, keep you awake at night and stop you from enjoying the blessings that God has already given you. Better may be harder to measure and not as glamorous, but the inner stability that comes from gradual success is more valuable and lasting.”
Let that roll around in your head for awhile and see if it doesn’t give you a new perspective!
