He Is Using the Small Things
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
A fun fact about me is that I love watching sports documentaries. I don’t know what it is, but man, I love a good sports documentary. One of the things about sports documentaries is that they so often illustrate this point: the moments that look so big are actually just a bunch of small moments all put together.
Like when you’re watching that amazing pitcher who led his team to the World Series or the quarterback who’s receiving the Heisman, what you’re actually watching is the compilation of thousands of hours practice. You’re watching many, many weights lifted and sprints run. This isn’t just for sports - so many of the moments that seem so big to us are actually made up of little moments.
You have to imagine that somewhere along the line, people who do big things have probably stopped to think- is this even worth it? Is anything even happening?
I sometimes feel that when I’m doing things that are much smaller than being a major league athlete. Galatians 6:9 talks about big things that come about out of small, maybe even boring things. Jesus even talks about this in Matthew 13 when he says the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed. It’s tiny and kind of lame. Who could imagine that it will grow into a giant tree?
Before you’re thinking that I’m talking about sports, I’m talking about the things that God calls us to do every day. Things like honoring our parents, loving people who aren’t very lovable, spending time with Jesus. They’re the kind of things that just look boring sometimes, and definitely look small when we’re doing them. They require daily work and persistence. They’re the kind of things that it’s just so much easier to not worry about.
Sitting with a lonely girl at lunch and being like, “Yikes, this is awkward.” Telling the truth even when it gets you in trouble. These aren’t things we have to do to earn God’s love because, of course, we can’t do that. God already loves us. God works through the tiny things, until sitting with the lonely girl becomes a friendship that brings glory to God. Telling the truth helps you, again, understand the grace and forgiveness of God. They’re little things that the Lord uses to bring about big things.
Weariness is real, Paul says it in Galatians 6:9. Choosing the lesser thing can look so much better than choosing the right thing. Following Jesus is hard, especially when it makes you look different from the people around you. Look at the way God’s Word talks about the way God uses small things over time to make a big difference. A tiny mustard seed becomes a gigantic tree. The teeny, tiny, boring choices we make each day can be used by God to grow something amazing. Not because of who we are, but because of who God is.