"A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.” Is. 60.22
"For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.” Zech. 4:10
One never knows where a simple act of ordinary, unheralded faith may lead.. Or the avalanche that a simple act of routine faithfulness may produce. Consider the following:“
It was the year 1858 in the city of Boston. Edward Kimball was a young Sunday School teacher who made it a habit to personally give each student in his class an opportunity to accept Christ as their Savior. He was concerned about one of his students who worked in a shoe store. One day, Kimball visited the young man at the store where he found him in the back, stocking shelves and led him to Christ. That student was Dwight L. Moody who eventually left the shoe business to become one of the greatest evangelists of all time.
Moody became an international speaker and toured the British Isles. He preached in a little chapel pastored by a young man named Frederic Meyer. In his sermon, he told the story of his Sunday School teacher. That message changed Pastor Meyer’s ministry, inspiring him to become an evangelist like Moody. Meyer eventually preached in America, in Northfield, MA where a young preacher heard him say, “If you are not willing to give up everything for Christ, are you willing to be made willing?” That remark led J. Wilbur Chapman to respond to God’s call on his life.
Wilbur Chapman went on to become an effective evangelist. He enlisted the help of a volunteer named Billy Sunday who helped him set up for his crusades. Billy Sunday learned how to preach by watching Chapman and eventually took over Chapman’s ministry, becoming a dynamic evangelist. Billy Sunday’s preaching brought thousands to Christ.
Inspired by a Billy Sunday Crusade in Charlotte, NC, a group of Christian men dedicated themselves to reaching their city for Christ. They invited an evangelist Mordecai Ham to come and hold a series of evangelistic meetings. The year was 1932. A local farmer loaded his pick-up truck with neighbors and brought them to the meetings. One was a 16 year old boy who sat in the crowd each night spellbound by the message. Each evening the preacher seemed to be shouting and waving his finger at the young man. Night after night, the teenager came and finally on the last night, he went forward and gave his life to Christ. That teenager was Billy Graham!”
Ah, the power of God to take what He has done through us and continue it beyond us! And not just continue it, but mightily multiply it. As the Lord has promised, "A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation..." Is.60:22 There are many things we can't know regarding the work of God, whatever size it appears to be. We often don't know when God's intended end for it has come. We don't know where its greatest impact will be felt.. Most of all, we are so often left in the dark as to how it will take place. What we do know however is this - "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
A virtually unknown 5th grade Sunday school teacher...a young boy stocking shelves in a shoe store...a Saturday morning encounter...and the world would never be the same. The amount of fruit which has come from that encounter is absolutely incalculable. And so my friend, know that God delights to mightily multiply even the most meager of beginnings. He loves to turn 5 fish and 2 loaves of bread into more than enough to feed for over 5,000 listeners. Through His power the widow's mite has undoubtedly been turned into millions upon millions of dollars (probably billions in actuality) over the past 2,000 years as her example has been the center of countless giving sermons.
Our calling is not to figure out when and how God is using us. Our premier calling is to stay close enough to Him that His presence lingers unmistakably upon us and that we are able to recognize when and where we are to faithfully toss our own widow's mite. And you just never know...at least in this life!
Flashpoint: Whatever God does through us He promises to further beyond us.
