For who has despised the day of small things (Zechariah 4:10).
Plants, trees, and shrubs begin life as a small seed that germinates. Human life begins as a zygote. Speech development in a child begins with one syllable words.
The kingdom of God operates on the principle of the seed. Something begins small and then grows a little at a time. When you are born again, God plants the seed of His nature within you and it begins to grow and develop. Along with that seed of God’s nature comes a talent, an ability, a skill, a calling. All of us have a unique and special gift or ability from God.
Faithfulness in the small things causes the seed of His ability in your life to germinate. No person in God’s kingdom starts out immediately after salvation functioning in their full ability or calling. The seed God places in us must have time to grow.
After Bible School, I began my ministry as a janitor at a large church. There I learned humility, faithfulness, integrity, endurance, submission, respect for leaders, unselfishness, and how to adapt to different personalities. I also studied the Word and developed my fellowship with God in prayer. The seedbed of my ministry now found its fertile soil in faithfulness in small things way back then.
You may feel the call of a pastor, an evangelist, or a teacher in the body of Christ. You sense a seed of ministry in you. Or, you are just looking to find your place in the body of Christ and be use by God to bless others. Then find a way to be faithful in small things. Minister in nursing homes, prisons, Bible studies, small groups, in children’s ministry, or in youth groups. Assist your pastor in your church in any way he needs you. Usher, greet, cut the grass, repair the building, help with the sound, teach a children’s class, minister in a nursing home, or lead a small group. Look for areas of need and lend a hand.
Promotion comes from the Lord. Don’t despise the day of small things. Those days are the proving ground for what God can do through you for the rest of your life.