When Little Becomes Much

God takes a small seed and brings forth a mighty plant that can multiply and bring forth thousands of other plants like itself.  Don’t despise the days of small beginnings and small things.  We serve a miracle-working God who gives us seed that He asks us to combine with faith and obedience.  I love serving God!

In Proverbs 30:24-28 King Solomon informs us that four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise.  As you read these verses you will see that the focus is all about how some things that seem small and insignificant are actually able to bring big results.  This is true because they include the elements of God-inspired wisdom.

It begins with the ant which has little strength (when compared to us) yet it wisely stores up food in the summer.  This is the lesson of realizing that if you are in a time of plenty and harvest, it won’t last forever.  Joseph heeded the revelation from God that the world he lived in would have seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.  When seasons of abundance are upon us it is human nature to think that this is the way it will be from now on.   For some, maybe so.  But for the majority things will change.  Your company may downsize, the economy of your nation may reverse, unexpected events can eat up your savings, and so on.  Joseph wisely stored up grain during the fat years, knowing that the lean years would arrive.  And so the ant has been programmed by God to take advantage of the days of harvest and plenty.  They store up enough food for the lean days of winter, knowing that summer will pass.

The coney is also known as the rock hyrax.  They are common in Israel and are like a chipmunk or groundhog.  This little creature has many natural enemies such as hawks, foxes, snakes, and dogs.  God has given them the wisdom to seek refuge in something bigger than they are when they sense danger.  Because rocks are plentiful in Israel, the rock hyrax will stay close to them so they can quickly dart into a crack or crevice where they cannot be reached.  They have found that there is protection in seeking refuge in something bigger than they are.  This reminds me of Rahab who lived in the walls of Jericho.  When a small band of Israeli soldiers spied out her walled city she wisely offered them shelter and a place to hide.  Rahab heard of how God had fought for Israel, causing them to be victorious in every battle they faced.  She could see that Jericho would be no different and that the walled city she lived in couldn’t save her from an army that was helped by God.  Her small act of kindness brought her protection.  She alone survived when Jericho was attacked and many years later her name and what she did is recorded in the Hebrews 11 hall of faith.  Her little became much.

The third creature mentioned is the locust or grasshopper.  Though they are small they have learned to gather in swarms of thousands and stay close together.  By themselves they are an unintimidating insect that is easy prey for birds and reptiles.  Yet when they fly together in rank, they appear to be a ferocious storm cloud that confuses their enemies.  They are able to advance from crop to crop in flight without drawing in hundreds of birds who could eat them because they are small and weak when alone but large and mighty when working together.  Jesus displayed the wisdom of the locust when He would strategically allow large crowds to gather where He ministered.  His enemies, the Pharisees, and religious rulers of His day, were trying to find a way to arrest Him and kill Him before His time.  But Scriptures record time and again that “because of the crowd, they did not dare arrest Him”. 

The fourth creature is called the lizard in some Bible translations and the spider in others.  Verse 28 says that though it is small it is found in kings palaces.  Whether this verse is talking about a spider or a gecko is up for debate.  What is certain is that either one of these creatures is found in the king’s palaces all over the world.   This speaks of the power of penetration and access.  This creature shows that it is possible for something small and insignificant is able to gain access to the most important habitation in the land.  This reminds me of the story of Zacheus who was small of stature making it nearly impossible for him to get a good look at Jesus as He passed through his town.  Zacheus wisely climbed up a tree that gave him superior access to Jesus as He drew near.  His wisdom and extra effort caught the attention of Jesus, causing Him to stop and give him special time alone together at his home. 

These creatures of Proverbs 30 are great examples of how God often takes what is little and accomplishes much.  In my lifetime I have seen this played out.  Here are a few of my experiences with little that became much…….

•  At age 8, I did not know how to swim.  In a very large and crowded public pool, my foot got caught on an inflatable raft and I nearly drowned.  My sister came to help me but in panic, I dragged her under, and we were both in trouble.  For a split second, my sister came to the surface and yelled “Help”!  Our friend from Missouri “just happened” to be looking at the exact spot when she briefly came up.  She rescued us both just in time. 

• At age 20 my pastor in Wichita diverted from his regular Bible teaching series and spoke about the importance of his Bible School training.  This happened on the exact day I had prayed to God to have him speak about Bible School that night as a confirmation that I should go to Christ For the Nations.

• At age 21, while serving as a volunteer at a Youth camp in Laverne, Oklahoma I was asked to do my secular rock music presentation on Wednesday.  Other events took up the time slot I was to share, and it was rescheduled for Friday.  This was the day that pastor Gene Allen came as a guest speaker as was with us for the day.  He saw my presentation and was impressed enough to invite me to bring it to his church in Pampa.  Afterwards, he began calling pastor friends in the Dallas area while I attended Christ For the Nations.  He encouraged them to have me speak at their churches.  This led to over 300 rock music seminars being held over a period of four years.

• At age 22 I agreed to join Fiona Cudmore (now DesFontaine) from South Africa for morning prayer each day.  She had previously invited Cheryl Griffin.  The three of us prayed together daily and began traveling together to conduct the rock music seminars.  Cheryl and I were married on the last day of school, May 8, 1981.

• I could continue with many more examples of how little divine occurrences caused major things to happen in our 43 years of marriage.  Without giving all the details the list would include our move to South Africa/ our becoming missions pastors of a 3,000-member church while there/ joining Larry Lea’s prayer team in 1990/ our move to Austin in 1994/ getting a job in Austin in 1994/ being directed by God to get back into full-time public ministry in 1997/ becoming pastors of Tree of Life Church in Pflugerville, TX in 2003/ seeing God get our daughter Sarah into the hospital to be treated for the disease that almost killed her in 2007/…..and the list goes on.
  

God takes a small seed and brings forth a mighty plant that can multiply and bring forth thousands of other plants like itself.  Don’t despise the days of small beginnings and small things.  We serve a miracle-working God who gives us seed that He asks us to combine with faith and obedience.  I love serving God!