Small Beginnings: Pressing on when You want to Quit

 

The number one reason I give up on stuff is because I don’t see visible progress.

I give up on working out and eating healthy because I don’t see any visible change in my body right away.

I give up on habits to further my spiritual walk because no “aha!” moments occur in the first few attempts.

I give up on writing because I don’t see it taking off as soon as I want it to.

 

Why We Hate Small Beginnings

 

Humans hate small beginnings. We love one hit wonders. We love prodigies who blow everyone else away at the first attempt.

We are fascinated by instant success. We even cry with emotion when a kid on a talent show shows up with the chops of a seasoned adult.

We like to skip steps. We like to take shortcuts. We like to break through boundaries and soar past the competition.

We don’t like to wait. We loathe the mundane. We dread the necessary details that must bind together to create a journey.

Small beginnings make us feel weak. Small beginnings make us fear our dreams might not happen after all.

And maybe they won’t. Maybe my dreams won’t happen the way I want them to. But that’s not my business. It’s God’s.

 

The Purpose for Small Beginnings

 

God creates small beginnings for a reason. He carves out a path of small successes for a purpose: to capture our hearts.❤

For when we are weak and helpless He meets us there. His power is made evident in our weaknesses.

And when we close our eyes and put one foot in front of the other, squeezing His hand along the way like a little child, we get the opportunity to abide in His presence. To walk close to Him. To feel His hand in ours. To lean against His chest.

And we get to see God move. Joshua 3:10 says “Today you will know that the living God is among you” (NLT).

The Israelites were going off to war. They were scared to death. But God was with them. And He wanted them to KNOW it. To see His power at work; a wondrous display of His mighty love for them.❤

Small beginnings refine our motives. Small beginnings strip us of our pride and self-sufficiency. Small beginnings deepen our dependence on God and, in turn, our relationship with Him. And that’s more important than all the success in the world.❤

 

Zechariah 4:10

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin” (NLT). 

When it All Seems Impossible: God Can

 

I struggled to write this post. The spark of inspiration fizzled as I attempted to unravel my thoughts into a coherent line of prose. Everything I wrote came out disjointed and uninspired.

 

Several frustrated attempts and a few Oreos® later (okay maybe more than a few) God emptied my brain of all productive thought and replaced my frantic scrawlings with these two words: God can.

 

When you’re dreams are too big and you feel so small, God can.

When the obstacles you face tower over you and you’re filled with fear, God can.

When all your striving amounts to nothing and you feel like an utter failure, God can.

When your resources are spent and you have no clue how you’re gonna make ends meet, God can.

When your weaknesses and inadequacies make you feel like God could never use you, God can.

When your calling seems impossible and your passion is impractical, God can.

When all is lost, God can.

When you’re at the end of your rope, God can.

When your strength is gone and you’re weak and tired, God can.

When you’re beat up and scarred by your own mistakes and you think you’ve fallen too far to be loved, God can. And He does.

 

All those words I tried to say—all those notebook pages I crumpled up and threw in the trash—were an attempt to communicate this truth: that when we can’t, God can. Psalm 121:1 says, “I look up to the mountains–does my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!” (NLT).

 

I don’t know where you’re at. I don’t know if you’re chasing a dream that seems impossible, following a calling that seems impractical, waiting for a relationship that seems improbable, or holding onto a promise that sounds unfathomable. Whatever it is that God’s placed on your heart that you yearn to see come to fruition, let me share with you the two words He whispered to my own soul: God can.

 

In Luke 18:27 Jesus tells us, “”What is impossible for people is possible with God.” I think so often we get caught up wondering what the end goal’s gonna look like. We hear a word from God and try to fashion it into an image we can hang on the wall and strive for. And that’s a dangerous thing to do, because either the vastness of the goal can overwhelm us, or the outcome itself can become more important to us than God.

 

Our eyes shouldn’t be on our circumstances, ourselves, or even the outcome of a dream. Our eyes should remain on God alone. We are not promised that things will work out exactly the way our finite minds imagine them to. In fact, we’re pretty much guaranteed that God will continue to surprise us. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (NLT).

 

So many times I expect God to come through in one way or another, but He doesn’t, and when that happens my human heart is prone to doubt and discouragement. But every time God doesn’t do something when or how I want it to be done, He ends up surpassing all my expectations and works everything together in a way only He, the God of the universe, ever could.

 

One of my favorite passages is Isaiah 41:17-20 which says, “When the poor and needy search for water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the Lord, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them. I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus.

 

“I will give them fountains of water in the valleys. I will fill the desert with pools of water. Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground. I will plant trees in the barren desert… I am doing this so all who see this miracle will understand what it means—that it is the Lord who has done this, the Holy One of Israel who created it” (NLT).

 

Do your dreams seem impossible? Do your needs seem unmeetable? Does God’s promise to you seem doubtful at best? Fantastic. You’re right on track. So many times throughout the Old Testament God allowed the children of Israel to face towering obstacles.

 

So many times He allowed them to find themselves in what seemed to be hopeless situations, and each time He rescued them. Why? Why let the obstacle get so big? Why let the circumstances get so hard? Why let the promise seem so ridiculous?

 

His answer is always the same, “Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you…” (Ex. 6:7 NLT). The scariest times of my life have also become the most victorious. The dreams that seemed impossible have become the most fulfilling. Why?

 

Because I was able to see the hand of God, my Heavenly Father, at work and be amazed; and as my heart wells up with worship for this great and mighty God I serve, it’s filled with something else as well: Love. Every obstacle God allows, every bizarre promise that He makes is done so with the intent to draw you into a deeper understanding of His love and—in time—enable you to share that love with others.

 

When the enemy tries to speak discouragement and defeat over me, I turn my eyes to One who loves me; the One who gave Himself for me; the One who holds me—even now in the midst of this impossible circumstance—in the safety of His arms.

 

Are you feeling discouraged today? Do you feel like giving up? Turn your eyes toward God; the Creator of the world; the One who loves you and gave Himself for you.

 

If He’s given you a dream, He will bring it to pass.

If He’s allowed an obstacle, He will help you overcome it.

If He’s given you a promise, He will fulfill it “for he who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23, NIV).

 

Our job is to live each day—each moment, in faith; to be confident in the midst of uncertainty because of the love of the One who has paid our debt, saved our souls, and drawn our wandering hearts to His own.

 

In 2 Timothy 1:11 Paul says, “God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News. That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return” (NLT).

 

God chose you. If you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you are a child of His. He has a purpose and a plan for your life. You don’t have to shudder in fear when the enemy comes spitting his lies. Instead, you can rest in the love of your Heavenly Father and say with confidence and faith, “I know the One in whom I trust.” God will take care of the rest. ❤