Today, like so many other days I sat down to work on the ministry's financial books...pay bills...balance checking accounts….just your normal routine.
And then it hit me....this is really happening. I'm working for a ministry.
The books I'm balancing, the checks I'm writing are for a ministry I could only dream about years ago.
It wasn't long until my mind turned back over fifteen years ago to a moment when our whole family sat around the dining room table facing one of the most difficult and painful obstacles of our lives---the uncovering of my Dad's secret debt.
In that moment there wasn't even the thought of future ministry. There was just the overwhelming heartache and pain of betrayal combined with the enormous task of cleaning up the disaster that was our finances. There was fear, heartache, uncertainty and did I mention fear???
Yet even in this darkest moment there was determination---mostly on the part of my Mom.
When faced with one of the greatest obstacles of her life, she responded with determination that said, "This will not destroy us. This is not the end." With that resolve, she began reading books on managing money God's way and applying them to our lives.
Little did we know then that everything we were learning and consistently putting into practice would lay the basis for what God had in store for the future. Back then, when we were working so hard to pay off debt, to learn to live on a budget, to keep financial records, pay bills on time, and even balance a checkbook, it was all preparation.
The principles that we learned, practiced, and became a part of us, laid the foundation and gave us the skills we needed to now run the very practical portion of ministry. The testimony created during that time has allowed us to share with men and women that through the power of the Holy Spirit and applying God's principles to your life, you can overcome any obstacle that comes your way in life.
Yet, fifteen years ago, sitting around that dining room table no one would have ever thought, no one could have imagined, honestly, no one even cared that this was what God had in store.
Still looking back, I can see that it was the decision to remain faithful in the little things
..to learn how to first follow God's principles
..then learn to live by those principles under my Mom's direction
..then manage a household budget on my own after she passed away,
..that trained me to do what I'm doing today
..managing God's money for His ministry.
And it reminds me of the passage in Luke 16:10 that talks about being faithful in small things:
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much,
and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much
It's a basic principle in His kingdom. In His wisdom, God won't give you more than you can handle. He asks you to prove what you are capable of doing by giving you small things that require faithfulness, obedience, honestly, trustworthiness, humility, and perseverance. As you are faithful in these things, He will little by little allow you to grow into the dreams He has planned for your life.
So my challenge to you today is simple;
Are you being faithful in the small things that God has given you to do?
Are you a faithful, steady worker at your job?
Do you take care of the things with which He's blessed you?
Are you loving the people in your life and showing God's love to them?
Are you properly managing your finances?
Are you living in obedience to God's commands or compromise?
Are you tithing?
Are you keeping your heart pure?
Are you faithful in your prayer and Bible study?
Are you growing and producing fruit where God has you planted, or are you wasting time "waiting" (and maybe whining) that God isn't opening bigger doors?
Here's the thing about small things---they are small.
Too often they don't seem like that big of a deal and we ask, "What does it matter?"
But here's why they matter: God is watching how you handle the small things to see if He can trust you with bigger things.
It’s a small principle with amazing hidden potential: Be faithful in small things.
