For who has despised the day of small things? (Zechariah 4:10)

The Day Of Small Things

There are many small things in the world and each one has its place. When God created the world He ordained large animals and small. There were towering trees that stood large against the backdrop of small trees. Some oceans were large and vast while the ponds and lakes dotted the landscape throughout the world. People came in different sizes with some called the sons of Anak who were giants among men. Great plans were made with great people and mighty nations ruled over smaller nations as history unfolded. When the Holy Spirit revealed the mind of God to man in writing the books called the Bible, He included the great stories of men like Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and the apostles Peter and Paul. These were larger than life individuals who carved out an eternal story on the pages of holy writ long remembered by the casual student. Sometimes lost in the grandeur of the more notable stories are the lesser examples of simple saints going about their business making the will of God become a powerful testimony of grace and love. Noah built an ark to save his family but his sons, their wives, and Noah’s wife were an integral part of that effort. Without their support, Noah would have been alone in a world bent on destruction. It is clear that Mrs. Noah was a godly woman who loved her husband and helped his faith grow as she exhibited her faith in the impossible because it was the word of God. This was a small thing in the scheme of what was about to happen to the world but it was incredibly important to Noah and the family.

God used small things to accomplish His will. Abraham was a man unnoticed in his time and yet he became the father of many nations through the power of God. Moses, while great at one time as a son of Pharaoh, was chosen when he was small in his own eyes to be the leader of God’s people to the land of promise. A little shepherd boy did something the mighty army of Israel was too fearful to do when David killed the behemoth champion of Philistia by the name of Goliath. During the days of evil king Ahab a young maiden was captured by the Syrians and taken to serve in the house of the commander of the army. Seeing her master suffering from leprosy, the little girl implored her mistress to send Naaman to the prophet in Israel to be cured. Jesus would remark how there were many lepers in the days of Elisha but only one was healed. This was because of a small girl’s faith in the vastness of God’s power. Amos became a great prophet of the Lord although he was nothing more than a sheepherder and tender of sycamore trees. A cupbearer to King Artaxerxes became the greatest motivator of rebuilding in the history of Israel. When a crisis came upon the Jews in the days of Ahasuerus king of Persia and Media a simple maiden of God who rose to be the queen of the empire took courage and stepped out to save her people. In the first century, four fishermen, a tax collector and a zealot joined six others to become the driving force of the establishment of the eternal plan of God in the church. When the church was persecuted individuals did their small part in going everywhere preaching the gospel in spite of the threats from Saul of Tarsus. It was in the solitary life of the man from Tarsus that God’s great instrument of grace spread the good news of Christ throughout the Roman Empire. Finally, what more can be said of the life of Jesus who changed the course of the world through His one life?

Zechariah reminds us not to despise the small things. There is great power in the influence of good leaven to change the world. It may not be possible to move the channels of nations to a higher plane but the individual can change the world he is a part of. There are many signs and stickers that seek men to pray for the country. We need to stop praying for the country and start praying for the people to change their hearts. An avalanche is not deadly because it is made up of a few sparkles of snow but the mass gathering of what each individual snowflake does in union with the millions of other snowflakes. Souls will not be brought to Christ through great universal plans of man’s wisdom but when the small efforts of individuals bring a person into their home and open the Bible to teach them the good news. There is much for young people to do, women to accomplish and men as leaders of the home to show the world. God used many small things to accomplish big things. There is nothing that cannot be accomplished small or large if the heart allows God to control the outcome. Do not despise the small things for from the small things large things come.