On a cold January day in 1848, a young boy named Homan Walsh flew a little kite across a great, wide waterfall. When it touched down on the opposite bank, someone tied off the thin wisp of kite string and sent a stronger string back across to the other side. After the stronger string came a cord, and after that cord a rope, and following the rope came a steel cable stretching across the watery chasm. That steel cable eventually became a suspension bridge spanning the 825 foot gap between Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York.
The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge was the world's first functional railway suspension bridge—a feat many, including bridge builders, argued could not be achieved. The bridge played a significant role in connecting cities on both sides of the border, as well as contributing to a large influx of trade and tourism to the region. It even served to aid slaves escaping to freedom in Canada during the Civil War. And it all started with a boy, a kite, and a string...
Many wondrous works start small, and one such work was the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord, spearheaded by a man named Zerubbabel and a group of Jewish exiles. Instead of a thriving Jerusalem, God's people returned to an abandoned city. In place of the glorious temple built by King Solomon, there lay a heap of rubble. And instead of a populous nation, the band of returning captives numbered a scant 42,000. These were small beginnings indeed!
Scripture tells us the Israelites started strong; they rebuilt the altar and resumed the ritual sacrifices, they gave money and acquired materials for the work, and Zerubbabel himself laid the foundation of the temple to music, singing and shouts of praise to the Lord (Ezra 3). But hot on the heels of their celebration came challenge after challenge: discouragement, fear, frustration, and political opposition (Ezra 4). The Israelites' strong start came to a grinding twenty-year halt.
Just when it seemed all hope of rebuilding the temple was lost, God began speaking to the people through prophets like Haggai and Zechariah. Zechariah received numerous visions and words of encouragement from the Lord, not only for his countrymen, but specifically for Zerubbabel. In one such vision, Zechariah sees a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it. On either side of the bowl there stood two olive trees with channels running directly from the trees to the lampstand, pouring forth golden oil (Zechariah 4:2–3, 12).
When Zechariah inquired of the angel of the Lord as to the meaning of the lampstand and the olive trees, He replied, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty" (Zech. 4:6). The Lord continued to encourage Zerubbabel saying He would level mighty mountains before him, that Zerubbabel's own hands would complete the temple, and that many would rejoice when they saw his work (v. 7–10). Even though Zerubbabel may have felt like a small man with a small task, he was anointed to serve the Lord—and the Lord would finish the work!
Perhaps, like Zerubbabel, you find yourself up against a task that makes you feel small. You find yourself asking, Is this all God has for me? You feel ill-equipped, discouraged, maybe even afraid of failing. You encounter countless frustrations that make you want to give up. You feel the heavy weight of opposition from the enemy, maybe even from friends and family. Life feels like it is at a standstill, and you're not sure if you'll ever take that next step forward...
Take courage, sweet friend! God-sized works are wrought in the day of small things. Though we may not see it, God is leveling mountains before us! He is building us up in faith, one brick at a time. He is teaching us, "Not by the might of many, nor by the power of self, but by My Spirit alone!" God is showing us how to rely constantly on His ever-flowing Spirit within, for when the work is of the Spirit, it is to the glory of God's grace. And He is raising our sights from the ordinariness of the immediate to the glory of the eternal!
We must remember that kingdom work does not have to be big to be useful—God accepts the small things, and we should embrace them as well! The day of small things is a powerful season of priceless preparation. In it, we learn that God's work in us is just as valuable as God's work through us. We learn that God will finish what He has started (Philippians 1:6). And we learn that all real ministry is the pouring out of self (2 Timothy. 4:5–7)—not for our own agenda, but for the wonderful, often difficult purposes of the Lord!
So let us persevere in the small things, for we may be working with strings that will one day be bridges. We may be achieving what others said was impossible. And with the small things entrusted to us we may be gaining more, that one day it may it be said of us, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Master!" (Matthew 25:21)
My Lord, I confess I have often despised the small things in my life—small opportunities to give, small ways to serve, small, tedious steps toward a goal still many years off. I confess that far too often my pride is behind the wheel as I seek ways to be known and seen and praised rather than seeking to be faithful in the small things right in front of me. Help me to embrace the small things, to see the precious value in what the world deems a waste of time. Help me to finish the works You have for me—not by might nor by power, but by Your Holy Spirit! Guard my heart from discouragement, from fear, and from the enemy's attacks. Strengthen my hands for the work, and help me step forward in faith that You will finish what You have started! In Jesus' name, amen.
Reflection Questions
- What "small things" in your past that God has used in amazing ways? How does this encourage you for the present?
- Are there any small tasks in your life currently that discourage and frustrate you? How do these tasks deepen your dependence on God?
- Read Hebrews 11: 1 & 13. What helps tune your heart to the promises of faith when embracing small things with delayed results? What distracts you from those promises?