Read:
Micah 5:2
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
Ponder:
The prophet Micah was one of the 12 minor prophets, which means he was one that God used to write one of the shortest books of the Old Testament. In this text God declares through Micah that though Bethlehem is a small and unimportant tribe, it will be significant in God’s fulfillment of His ancient promise. And although David, their king, who was born In Bethlehem, may have been insignificant among his brothers, it will be through the lineage of David that God will call forth a ruler over the people Israel—Jesus the Messiah.
This verse reminds us that God can and does use small, ordinary people and small, ordinary churches to do great and mighty things. I know this because when I read the entirety of Scripture, I read stories of the small things God loves to use in building up His kingdom and His church. God loves to use small numbers.
We are reminded of this when we read 1 Samuel 14:1-6 and see the story of Jonathon telling his armor bearer that it makes little difference to God whether He saves by few or by many. God loves to use small people.
In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 we are reminded that the world looks to the great or to the mighty to do the mighty things. But not God. God chooses the nobodies to do the great and mighty things. And God loves to use small gifts. John 6:1-15 is a story where we are shown that a small amount of food fed a great amount of people in the hands of Jesus. And in Mark 12:41-44 a woman’s small contribution was seen as great in the eyes of the Lord.
What does all of this mean to us on this day? It means that there is hope for you and I, regardless of how small we might feel. God can use you and I even though we may feel small and weak.
God can also use the small churches of this world to do great and mighty things. Small in numbers or stature does not mean our BIG God cannot do BIG things.
There is no hiding place for any of us. We can no longer give excuses that we do not have enough money, enough talent, enough gifts. We cannot hide behind a wall of excuses. We have a great reason to share our faith. We don’t know who will accept Christ and who will not. We do not know the hearts of those around us. But God does and wants to use us, big or small, to build His kingdom.
But we must choose. Do we believe that God can and does use the small things, or not?
Practice:
Today, in a humble spirit, consciously choose to believe that God can use you to do great and mighty things. Then expectantly look for the opportunity to present itself.
