Little is Much

I used to have big dreams. I actually believed I could make a difference— help the world become a better place. I never considered the vastness and impossibility of it all because I served a big God. But the older I became, the smaller He got. Years, kids, problems, reality— life— took over, and somewhere along the way I hid those hopes in boxes and settled for mediocrity. Having carefully wrapped the blueprints in newspaper, I pushed them in deep, sealed them with heavy tape, and crammed them into a dark corner.

But one day, in the middle of my simple, ordinary, middle-of-nowhere, mundane, late thirty-something averageness, God reminded me of the boxes. For the first time in years I saw Him clearly, and realized He hadn’t gotten smaller after all; He had only looked littler because of the distance between us—the gap created the day I put the boxes, His plans, my trust away in the attic.

The packages were still there, dusty, but unchanged. Carefully breaking the seals, I removed the contents of each one: a computer, desk, words, paper, pens, books, confidence, grace, peace, strength, testimony—everything I needed was there, and it had been all along.

So at a small desk in a small corner of a small house in a small town, I dusted off the items— His plans, my trust—and started writing. And guess what? He’s using the years, the kids, the problems, the reality that took over—the very excuses I made—to accomplish His purpose.

I’m just a stay-at-home mom in Oklahoma. I don’t have connections or a publisher or an agent. I don’t have a platform, marketing savvy, or a great branding strategy. But what I do have is God.

And God uses small. God uses average. God uses anyone.

How am I sure? I checked my analytics. In just one year’s time my little words have been read in 18 countries around the world—places like India, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Bolivia, the Philippines, and South Africa—places I will never be able to physically visit, places too big and impossible for me to even imagine—not because I’m perfect, not because I’m a great writer, not because I’m special, but because God is good, because He uses the foolish, because He can do big things with small stuff.

Be encouraged today. Your God is big. Don’t underestimate His power or His plan—He works in ways you can’t see. Nothing you do goes unnoticed; no work you do is in vain. God uses small. God uses average. God uses you.

Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem too small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own.

Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame.
There’s a crown—and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ Name.

– Kittie Suffield

Brothers, consider your calling: Not many are wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world – what is viewed as nothing – to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, so that no one can boast in His presence. But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became God-given wisdom for us – our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, in order that, as it is written: The one who boasts must boast in the Lord. – 1 Corinthians 1:27-31 (HCSB)

Linking with:

Laura @ http://www.beholdingglory.com/

Jennifer @ http://studiojru.com/blog/

Beki @ http://www.blog.therustedchain.com/

Stacy @ http://www.heartprintsofgod.com/

Michelle @ http://www.nictomsmom.blogspot.com/