ESOCS Devotional 1 November 2022
TEXT: ZECHARIAH 4:1-10
MEMORY VERSE: “Do not despise this small beginning, for the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see the work begin, to see the plumbline in the hand of Zerubbabel. For these seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord that see everywhere around the world.” Zechariah 4:10 TLB
0 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted lace ”
Sometimes, initiating a process is one of the most difficult things in life; and venturing into a new enterprise is sometime a great challenge. Many people procrastinate what they want to do because at such times we experience indecision. We would wish we had a better standard or status. We would wish we had a better financial position or that we had someone to help us. We may also enter into regrets over the mistakes we made in the past that resulted in our present condition, which is not favourable. We may resort to blame someone for not doing the right things that would have made our situation better today. This attitude is a great error. It is not in line with the principles of God concerning His kingdom. He says, “”Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old” (Isa 43:18).
Moses made the same mistake but God redirected him. When Pharaoh and his army came upon the Israelites at the Red Sea, Moses expected God to do a great thing from heaven. Probably, he had expected Him to send another series of plagues like He did in Egypt or send thunder and lightning. But God said to him, “Why do you cry to me? … Lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the Israelites shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea” (Ex. 14:15-16). Moses had the rod in his hand. But to him, the rod was too small to do a great thing or yield a great result. What he needed to do was to act with the rod in his hand and then God would move mightily and do the miracle of dividing the Red Sea and Israel would obtain victory over their enemies.
We should not make the same mistakes. We should not be discouraged because the resources we have seem too small. Those resources are our “grain of mustard seed”. Let us sow it into the ground and leave the rest of the expected miracle to God. He knows what to do with it to make it grow into a giant tree. We should go as far as we can with the little we have, which we think is insignificant. God will do the rest. Moses obtained success only when he did the right thing. The right thing for us is to invest the little we have: talent, expertise, money, and any other. It is not a right thing for us to be discouraged or fail do start something while we wait for God to act. It is wrong for us to begin to blame people or circumstances. Those things are part of the processes of life and existence. Many people passed through them and did not allow them to swallow them. They went through the storms of life with determination and at the end of it all, they obtained success because God blessed their little efforts.
God is saying today: “Do not despise this small beginning, for the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see the work begin.” God is waiting to see you start something with the small thing you have; and He will come in and do the rest.
CHALLENGES
- Sit down and plan what to do with the small thing you have in your hand.
PRAYERS
- Pray God to direct you on what to do with your resources at all times.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
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ESOCS Devotional 1 November 2022
