Strength in the small

In the kingdom of God, nothing is ever insignificant.

A single word of encouragement can lift a weary soul from the depths of despair. Its power is never small. So why do we hesitate to offer it?

A tiny hug, offered with sincerity, can flood the heart of one who has never known love.

Over and over, Scripture reveals the wonder hidden in small things. Jesus pointed to the mustard seed, one of the tiniest of all seeds, to illustrate the power of the kingdom. While man may overlook it, God sees within it the potential to become a tree, broad and sheltering, where birds come to rest.

The prophet Zechariah reminds us: “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” (Zechariah 4:10). While people may scoff at what seems insignificant, God sees the weight and worth of every humble start.

Yeast ferments and spreads within minutes. We all know how a tiny spoon of yeast can ferment an entire batch of dough. So, is the power of sin. Be watchful. Be warned. What begins unnoticed can soon takeover, shaping our outcomes and destinies.

A simple smile can lighten the load of a burdened heart. Even a cup of cold water, given to a disciple in His name, carries eternal reward (Matthew 10:42)

On the Day of Pentecost, that seed bore fruit: 3,000 souls were added in a single day. Not long after, the number grew to 5,000, and ever since, the harvest has continued day by day, soul by soul, across the nations.

So it was with Elijah’s prayer on Mount Carmel. He declared the sound of abundance of rain, yet all that was seen at first was a cloud, no larger than a man’s hand rising from the sea. Soon the sky turned black with clouds and wind, and a mighty downpour followed.(1 kings 18:41-46)

The great harvest of souls began with Jesus, the first fruit (Romans 8:29). It is no wonder that God bypassed scholars and elites to choose fisherman and tax collectors. Mathew, a tax collector scorned by society, was entrusted with penning the Gospel that now bears his name. Amos, a simple sheep breeder and tender of sycamore fruit, neither trained nor born into a prophetic line was called to deliver bold, unwavering prophecies to Israel. 

To bring forth the nation of Israel, He didn't choose a strong tribe or a young promising couple. He chose an old, barren pair, Abraham and Sarah who, in the natural, couldn't even hope for a child. Yet through them, a nation was born. 

Jesus had no home of His own, no pillow to lay His head. He chose to be with the lowly. He walked among the sick, the poor, the blind, the tax collectors, fishermen, lepers and sinners. This Jesus became the Saviour of the world. 

David, too, began in obscurity, a shepherd boy tending a few sheep in the wilderness. Yet God saw a king in him. He was called from the pasture to the palace, first as Saul’s musician, then anointed to rule Israel.

Moses also kept sheep in the hills of Midian. But in God’s time, the shepherd was transformed into the deliverer of a nation, leading millions out of bondage.

The feeding of over 5000 started with 5 loaves of bread and two fish. What seemed insufficient in man’s eyes became more than enough in the hands of the Master. (John 6:8)

God chooses the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise and the weak things to put to shame the mighty. He picks the low, insignificant and despised things to bring to nothing things that are. (1 Corinthians 1:27,28)

When Israel needed deliverance from the terror of Goliath, God didn’t send a seasoned warrior or a towering soldier. He chose David, a shepherd boy of small stature, armed not with sword or shield, but with a sling and a stone, the weapons the world would call insignificant. But in God’s hand, they were more than enough.

And when the prophet Elijah encountered a starving widow gathering sticks, he asked her for a little water and a morsel of bread at a time when she had barely enough to feed herself and her son. Yet that small act of obedience, offering the little she had, unlocked an unending flow of oil and flour that sustained them through the famine.

The offering of the widow who placed two mites in the treasury was precious and costly in the eyes of Jesus. Hence, he said “ Assuredly, i say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury”.

To part the mighty Red Sea, all God used was the simple staff of Moses. To this day, no machine has ever been made that could split an ocean, but God didn’t need human invention. He didn’t go in search of anything powerful. An ordinary stick was enough in the hands of the Almighty.

A small change in character can shift the atmosphere around us.A small shift in habit can spark meaningful growth in us. A few whispered prayers can bring healing to a soul.

A faith like that of a mustard seed has the power to move mountains and it’s not the other way around.

The Church itself began not with a crowd, but with one Messiah and just twelve disciples.

Finally, Jesus was born in a manger. He was a carpenter and not a doctor. He lived in Nazareth about which people said , “ What good can ever come out of Nazareth ?” He had no place to lie down. He was more interested in being with the sick, poor, the lame, the blind, tax collectors, fishermen, the leapers and sinners

Even the smallest stroke of a letter, a jot or a tittle, held weight in the law, showing that nothing in God’s Word is insignificant.

And when God chose to enter the world, Jesus chose a manger and not a palace. He worked not as a scholar or physician, but as a carpenter. He lived in Nazareth, a town so overlooked that people scoffed, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Never look down on anything small. Who knows what it might become in just a few hours!!