We worship a big God who has commissioned His people to do a big work. Jesus said, “Go into ALL the world and preach the gospel to EVERY creature.” (Mark 16:15) Can’t get much bigger than that! And yet…
The Lord delights in small things, too. After all, He made the whole universe from nothing, constructing it out of particles so infinitesimal no human eye has ever seen them!
We can’t even see microbes with the naked eye, which, compared to an atom, would be like a planet to a grain of sand. And stronger microscopes won’t help. Atomic particles are smaller than the shortest wavelength of light needed to see them, at least in the ordinary sense.
Of course, the Lord does great things with very little. When Jesus visited the planet, He fed multitudes with a few loaves and fish. God helped David defeat the Philistines with one stone. But He also gives us little things—things we may overlook, missing how strategic they are in our lives.
Thus the reminder, “Who has despised the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10) Don’t forget that a little Lamb is going to win the Battle of the Ages!
Speaking of little things with a big impact, here’s a story for you. Our daughter Sara has seven children, 8 and under. It’s a challenge to keep them in groceries these days. They all seem to be in growth spurts.
The kids had heard a neighbor was sick and wanted to make some oatmeal raisin cookies for them.
“Right after breakfast,” Mama said. The breakfast menu was scrambled eggs and, as usual, they wanted more. “There are just two eggs left,” Sara explained. “You can have a little more scrambled eggs, or keep them for our baking.”
They decided to keep them for the baking project. “But we can pray for more eggs,” she advised. And this they did.
After baking and delivering the cookies, they returned home to find a car pulled into the driveway. It was their dear friend, Ke’Yunte.
She told how she felt the Lord urging her that morning to bring Sara and her family SOME EGGS. At first, she thought it would be silly. What would Sara think? But she couldn’t shake the impression, so here she was—with six dozen eggs!
What a faith-building lesson for those precious children, and for us grown-ups as well! God is real, He hears our prayers, and cares about the little things in our lives. He keeps track of our hairs (Luke 12:7), our tears (Psalm 56:8), our groans (Romans 8:26), our thoughts (Psalm 139:1-2), and kindnesses we do for others (Matthew 10:42).
But there’s another lesson here. Don’t feel, because you can’t do a big thing, that you can do nothing. A helping hand, a word of encouragement, a listening ear, or a little comfort to the lonely, like pebbles, can ripple across life’s sea all the way to eternity.
Remember, Jesus placed a little child before the adults one day and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4)
That’s a Grade A Large lesson for us all, isn’t it!
Article by Jabe Nicholson first published in the Commercial Dispatch, Saturday, January 25, 2025.