speaking of faithfulness
This is today's devotion from The Pentecostal Evangel.
I thought I'd pass it on.
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Small Things, Big Things
December 29, 2008
By Randy Mantik
“Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large
ones”
(
Luke 16:10, NLT).
God uses our current life situations to reveal who we really are. That’s
tough to understand when we are going through something difficult. Those of
you who have procured your degree from the School of Hard Knocks know
exactly what I’m talking about. But God will not entrust us with more until
He sees what we are doing with what we now have.
I remember when I was a child I wanted to operate the tractor with the
front-end loader. It looked like fun to be in control of such power. But my
dad wouldn’t let me. He knew I wasn’t ready for it. He just told me to move
some gravel with a shovel. That surely didn’t sound like much fun! As he was
exhorting me about my bad attitude, he would quote the verse from
Luke 16:
“Unless you are faithful in small things …” At the time, it didn’t settle
very well, but he was so right.
Throughout my life, I have learned to see the wisdom and value of what my
dad was trying to teach me through the Scriptures. I tend not to apply
myself unless it is some task I consider big and important. Oh, the
opportunities I’ve missed! Does God want me to wait to be faithful? No! He
wants my best now.
A friend of mine gave me this quote as I was embarking on a difficult
challenge: “There is always room for someone who wants to do it right.” I
have found that true time after time. The wise Solomon said, “Do you see a
man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve
before obscure men” (
Proverbs 22:29, NIV).
Don’t worry that you will spend your life doing something obscure and
trivial. Do what is at hand. And trust that God will use it for His
kingdom’s sake. Oh, and by the way, there is no such thing as a small task
in the kingdom of God. Everything is important. Each task prepares us for
what is to come.
A pastor I served with told me of a ministry intern he had. One of the
things he had asked that intern to do was make photocopies of the bulletin.
The intern wouldn’t do it! He didn’t think he needed to, or would ever need
to in ministry. A year later, he found himself in a ministry position at a
missions office in Europe. You guessed it. One of his responsibilities was
doing the photocopying. God always has the last laugh, doesn’t He?
Small things, big things — it makes no difference. God uses all things to
work His good work in our lives.
— Randy Mantik is lead pastor at CrossPoint AG in Portage, Wis.
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