“Do not despise these small beginnings.” Zechariah 4:10 NLT
“Benign neglect may be little noticed, but is largely consequential.”
My thoughts today are about “small things.”
Be careful you don’t confuse something small as therefore being unimportant. Significance and size are not identical in most cases. Big is not always more important; little is not always less. There are times when a very small thing has major consequence.
This practical concept was written by Benjamin Franklin when the American colonies were at odds with the English Parliament, “For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider, the battle was lost. For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.” Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1758. Such a tragic and irreversible loss occurred because of the smallest, needless neglect.
For good or bad, that’s very true in everyday life as well. A marriage grows closer or more distant, a friendship deepens or diminishes, a working relationship prospers or languishes – not usually because of large things, but by the small things such as: words said or left unsaid, kindnesses shown or withheld, courtesies demonstrated or denied.
That is also true of your spiritual life and growth. It is not the great things you do that propel spiritual growth; it is the simple, everyday things you never fail to do – Bible reading, prayer, church attendance, giving, serving, and Christian fellowship. Benign neglect may be little noticed, but is largely consequential.
The Bible uses the examples of a man’s tongue, a horse’s bit, a ship’s rudder, or a small spark to illustrate the power in the smallest of things, properly or improperly exercised. “Those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every way. We can make a horse turn around and go wherever we want by means of a small bit in his mouth. And a tiny rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot wants it to go, even though the winds are strong. The tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.” See James 3:3-9 NLT.
God believes in the power of seeds. In the smallest acorn is contained all the potential of the grandest oak tree. In the weakest individual are all of the unlimited possibilities inherent in who God made each person to become. Since being a young man, I have been amazed at the simplest, yet most promising verse, “As many as received Him, to them He gave power to become the sons of God, even as many as believe in His Name. Which were born . . not of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13 KJV.
I don’t claim to know all that means or how that happens, but as little as I may understand as to how God does that, the possibilities are electrifying. See Ephesians 3:20-21. God sees in you all that you can become by placing your life entirely in His hands. See Philippians 1:6.
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin . .” Zechariah 4:10 NLT. God rejoices to see good things begun, however small they seem when beginning, because He “declares the end from the beginning,” is “the Alpha and Omega, beginning and the end,” and is “the Author and Finisher of our faith.” See Isaiah 46:10/Revelation 22:13/Hebrews 12:2 NKJV.
The chronicle of your life will not be written by the months and years, but composed in the smaller slices of time, mere seconds and minutes. A small step in a right direction can take you on a glorious journey. A moment of decision can shape your eternal destiny.
My prayer for you today is that you will see what God is doing and rejoice.