Tag Archives: don’t despise small beginnings

February 7, 2024 · 5:32 AM

Big Vision, Small Details

Have you ever heard that some people are headlines and others are the articles? Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “I’m a big picture person.” What they’re saying is that they don’t like the small, detailed work. I once took a behavioral assessment at work. It said that when it comes to sales, I like to go for the high risk, high reward sales. I preferred those to the low hanging fruit sales. I’ve been the type of person who tries to hit a home run every time. The problem with that mentality is that success in whatever God has called us to do is built one, small step at a time. You have to start with a Timex watch and not a Rolex. You can get there by focusing on the details while keeping your eye on the big picture.

In Zechariah 4, Zechariah had seen a vision of the Temple. He saw a golden lamp stand, some oil, other lamps and two olive trees. Keeping the lamps filled with oil, trimming the wicks and keeping them lit was very tedious work. When he asked what it was, the Lord told him that his message to Zerubbabel was that it wasn’t by might, nor by power, but by God’s Spirit. He also told him that not even a mountain could stand before him insinuating that success is in the little things. Zerubbabel was a civic leader tasked with completing the Temple and God said he would finish such a great task that had stalled. God showed Zechariah that the Temple would be finished and the final stone would be laid by Zerubbabel.

God’s message to them and to us can be found in verse 10. He said, ”Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand” (NLT). I don’t know what God has called you to, but I do know that it’s greater than your abilities and capabilities. It can be overwhelming to think about. However, it won’t be by your strength or by your might that it is accomplished. It will be by the strength of the Lord. I also know that if you lay the foundation, take it one step at a time and trust God, no financial mountain, no skill gap mountain, or any mountain will be able to stand in your way. Don’t despise the small, detailed work. When you’re faithful in the little things, God can trust you with the big things.

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Building Success

When someone is staring something new, whether it’s a business or ministry, I usually give them the same advice. I tell them, “Start with Timex, not Rolex.” You want to build something that will take a licking and keep on ticking. You also don’t want to over spend. So many times when we’re starting something new, we make it about the sizzle instead of the steak. If you want to build something that will last, take your time, do things right and lay the foundation work first. No, it’s not sexy and it may not get a lot of attention, but if you do the small things right from the beginning, the larger things will take care of themself later. God puts it this way, “If you will be faithful in the small things, I’ll make you faithful over many things.”

In Zechariah 4, the Lord showed him Zerubbabel in a vision. He was the man who would lead the first group of Jews out of Babylonian captivity around 500 BC. This first set of Jews went back under his leadership, and with money collected by all Jews, with a mission to rebuild the Temple. The work was tedious and hard. People tried to disrupt them and stop them, but Zerubbabel kept working and kept the people focused. The Lord reminded him that it wouldn’t be completed by his might or strength, but by the Spirit of the Lord. Then in verse 10, the Lord sends him a reminder, and one to us too. He said, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand” (NLT). It was a reminder to not undervalue the beginning work of laying the foundation.

If we don’t get our foundation right, the rest of the structure is unsound. God is not concerned with whether or not we’re making things attractive enough. He wants us to do them right and to do them well. Whatever you’re starting won’t be a success because of your might or power, but by God’s Spirit. Yes, you should work like it depends on you and pray like it depends on God, but don’t despise the small beginnings. Don’t compare yourself in the beginning stage to where someone else is that has been doing it for a while. Put your head down, do what God called you to and leave the results up to Him. He doesn’t measure success the way we do anyway, so quit trying to building something that’s successful in man’s eyes. It’s not their approval you should be after.

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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March 28, 2022 · 5:40 AM

The Comparison Trap

Comparing ourselves to one another is something we all do. It’s especially dangerous when we do it as Christians though. We say, “Ifi didn’t have to go through the things I went through, I would be as close to God as they are.if I had their kind of time, I would pray more. If I had their kind of money, I would give extravagantly.” The list goes on, but the comparison trap begins with the word “if”. It’s the biggest little word out there. When we use it to compare ourselves, what we’re really doing is creating an excuse for not doing something we should be doing now.

When we find ourselves falling into this trap, it’s important to ask ourselves some questions to keep ourselves in check. We need to ask, “What’s my motivation for saying that? What’s driving this statement? What am I doing in this area right now with what I have?” In most cases, were not really doing much in that area, if anything at all. We’re delaying following a spiritual discipline we don’t care to follow, by comparing ourselves to others who only do it because they have what we don’t. The problem is that Jesus said in Luke 16:10, “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones” (NLT).

There’s a reason why God said in Zachariah 4:10, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” If you don’t do it when you have a little, you won’t do it when you have a lot. It’s when we’re faithful in the small beginnings that God will know we will be faithful in larger things. So whatever comparison trap you find yourself in, break the lie by calling it out. Then start doing whatever it is with what you have right now. You will stop the excuse making and turn on the fountain of blessings from God by following what He asks you to do.

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Follow The Process

I recently used a program to lose weight. After one day of following the rules and eating healthy, I stepped on the scale to see my progress. No change. The first thought to come to mind is, “This stuff doesn’t work!” It’s funny because I didn’t gain weight over night, but somehow my mind thinks that if I eat right for one day, I should have dramatic improvement. My coach encouraged me to continue following the process and to stock with it. Each day, I stepped on the scale to check my progress though. Some days I lost weight, others I stayed the same. The coach reminded me that weight loss shows up in more than the scale. Even though it didn’t show it, my measurements were shrinking. He encouraged me to continue to be patient and to follow the process. After following the process for a couple of months, I saw the progress I was looking for.

God has processes too. In 1 Samuel 16, David was anointed as king of Israel, but he wasn’t ready to be king. God had a process for him to follow first. For much of that process, David was on the run from the current king, Saul. There were several times that David had the opportunity to skirt the process and to kill Saul. David didn’t listen to the voices around him trying to get him to kill Saul though. One instance was in 1 Samuel 26. Abishai and David snuck up on Saul while he was sleeping, and his spear was right beside him. Abishai thought God had delivered Saul to David. In verse 10 David replied, “I know that the Lord himself will kill Saul, either when his time comes to die a natural death or when he dies in battle” (GNT). David wasn’t willing to skip the process no matter how long it took. He was willing to wait for Saul to die naturally.

I’ve learned that the greater the calling you have, the longer the process is. David had to wait 15 years to be king. Just like David, we must be patient in the process and trust it. Philippians 1:6 says, “And so I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.” What God has started in you will be completed. It may seem like things are going slow or there’s no progress, and at times that you’re going backwards, but God is working. A lot of what God does in the process can’t be measured. Like David, we need to be patient. If God called you to it, He will fulfill it in His time. Be faithful in what seems like the little things (Luke 16:10). Don’t despise small beginnings either (Zechariah 4:10). God will be faithful to complete what He began in you. Just take the process one step and one day at a time.

Photo by Jordan Donaldson | @jordi.d on Unsplash

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June 25, 2018 · 6:06 AM

Being Faithful Now

In sales psychology, there’s a saying: The greatest predictor of future behavior is past behavior. In history, you’ve heard it said as, “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Being human, we don’t like change. Whether that’s the change in our environment, change in our processes or change in our behavior. Because we are opposed to change, we get the same results in our life over and over again. We wonder why we keep falling into the same trap, why life doesn’t get better or why we can’t break a cycle. It’s because we haven’t changed any behavior. If you want to change your future, do something different in your present.

God entrusts each one of us with gifts, talents, income and other things. He’s watching to see what we do with them. Are we someone who cultivates these things, hoards them or wastes them? If you’re looking at someone else’s gifts, talent or money, and you’re thinking, “If only I had what they have, things would be different,” you’re deceiving yourself. Yes, it might be different for a while, but in the end, you’d be back to where you are because of your behavioral patterns. When God looks to give you more of whatever you want, He looks at what you’re doing now with what He’s entrusted to you.

Luke 16:10 says, “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities” (NLT). Every one of us have the opportunity to get greater things and responsibilities, but it depends on what we’re doing with what we have now. We have to quit focusing on future desires and be faithful with what we have if we want more. Don’t despise small beginnings. Instead be faithful in them and God will see He can trust you with more. God looks at our heart more than our outward actions. Pray that God would help you to be faithful in what you have now so He can trust you with more later.

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