Your Dream: Small Beginnings Big God

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“Who despises the day of small things?” Zechariah 4:10

I wonder? 

I have been guilty of this. I think there are so many times when we look back (hind sight being 20/20) and say ‘who would have thought all of this would have started like that?’ 

Recently, at my mom-in-love’s 75th birthday party, someone asked her that very question as they looked around at all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her reply? 

“God did.” 

God is a God of small beginnings. 

The Bible is full of examples of small beginnings. 

· The manger
· A shepherd boy becoming a king
· A widow picking left over grain on the edge of a field 

Everyone starts somewhere. 

Joseph started his journey to greatness in the bottom of a well, cast aside by his family, alone, hungry, in the dark and damp. He had a dream. God gave it to him. His small beginnings were not just a way to keep Joseph humble; they were a way to bring God all the glory. 

There are moments when you will feel the momentum of the Spirit pushing you. You will know that there is something brewing. Change in the air and sparks of creativity and clarity are lighting up your world. 

Then there will be those moments when your but is bigger than your faith. I get it. I have been there. These moments are the important ones. These are the make it or break it moments of your dream. 

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9

More so than the great triumph of getting started, the real victory is in follow through. 

For me I have had plenty of starts. I have started books numerous times, I have started hobbies that never really go anywhere, but at the start I had all the hope and excitement I could muster. I threw myself into whatever project I had going. I became compulsive to the point that I was consumed with the work rather than the process. 

Aesop had something right. “Slow and steady wins the race.” Be the turtle, not the hare. 

Do not get worn down because you get bogged by details. Do not sweat the small stuff. God sees where He has you and where you are going. 

God is not confused. 

His plans for you are the same in your moment of doubt as they were in your moment of clarity. He has not changed his mind about you. 

So do not look around at your small beginnings and mistake them for “smallness”. Your dreams are bigger than you. The only way they will come to pass is by relying on God to add to your humble offering and multiply it into something that brings Him glory. 

Do not despise your small beginning. Get excited. The widow in the field married well and lived happily ever after. The shepherd who became king made mistakes, but God called him a man after His own heart. That manger housed the most amazing gift of all: a Savior for mankind. 

Small beginnings means there is plenty of room for God to do BIG things. 

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God is Bigger Than Your "BUT"

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Look at the size of her but! 

What have you wanted? What have you focused on? What has stood in your way?

Your But? How big is your But? Because my God is bigger.

If you just thought "But you don't know my circumstances" STOP! There  you go, showing your but again!

Of course I may not know, but God does. 

It is all a matter of perspective. 

When the children of Israel were on the edge of the Promise land, Moses sent 12 spies into the land to figure out what lie ahead. Ten came back with news of giants and other obstacles and only 2 came back with the amazing news of milk and honey! 

Are you a glass half empty or half full person? 

Perspective matters, just ask the rock climber. Climbing the sheer face of the side of a cliff or mountain may seem madness for some, but pure joy for others. Regardless of how you feel about it, climbers all have one thing in common: they have all had that moment of "now what". 

Where do I put my hands now? Is there going to be a place to put my feet in three moves if I follow this line? 

Move a little to the left or the right and the face of the mountain changes. There is a perfect path to climb just inches away from where there was no path before. Perspective. 

If you have ever questioned yourself about stepping out and doing what you have always wanted to do, followed by 'what will people say' or 'yeah, but I don't have this or that' then you are letting your but stand in the way of something great. 

I have been there too!

Right now I am beginning possibly the scariest thing I have ever done: I am writing a book. 

Didn't I already write a book? Yes, yes I did: a children's book. Now I am writing a book that has a totally different feel, a new market for me, and a book that makes me think "who am I to write this?" 

I struggle with my "But" just like anyone else. I am preaching to the choir, soloist Dayna Bickham, pay attention please! 

There is one thing I want to say to myself and to you: 

Those God calls He equips, Those He equips He sends, Those He sends He holds. 

Go for it. Trust that God has given you this dream, He has gifted you with the tools you need to pursue your dream. I bet if you look around, there are even people being lined up to help cheer you on as you chase that dream. Step out. To quote Nike, "Just do it!"  To quote myself, "God's got this!" 

Don't let your big but stop you! 

Buts are like snakes in the grass. You are walking along and everything seems fine, and out of no where a "But" lifts it's ugly little head and you are frozen in your tracks, afraid to move. STEP ON THAT BUT! 

Squash it, grind it to little pieces, chop it's head off! Do what you have to do to get over the objection and on to the objective! Keep going! 

I will. 

Question: What "But" will you kill today?