Dear pastor
I want to encourage you to find joy and fulfillment RIGHT NOW, in this PRESENT MOMENT, for the Lord is with you, even now.
So much of life and ministry can seem mundane, boring or like wasted time. And yet when God is present, He is sanctifying that very moment.
I remember the story I once heard about a father and son who went fishing together. When they got home the mother asked the father about the day, and he said something about not catching any fish and that the day was pretty much a bust. The son however wrote in his journal that night that he got to spend the entire day with his dad just the two of them and it was the best day ever.
Scripture reminds us not to despise, diminish or make light of the day of small beginnings. Another verse translates Zech 4:10 as a day of “small things.” And how many of the things in our lives and ministry seem small?
We say things and do things that we think we probably should be doing, but don’t think or expect them to be that impactful in someone’s life. But I am reminded that most often “success” is not made up of a few big things but rather thousands of small things consistently done.
Let’s come full circle back to where this blog post started.
Since God is with us in each and every moment and since He is present, speaking and working in the midst of even the small things that we do, let us not make light of those small things. Let us remember that God’s presence sanctifies that which is consecrated to Him.
So a simple word of encouragement, a kind gesture, a small gift of time or attention, a little sacrifice or service: all of these, done for the glory of God and consecrated fully unto Him, will be sanctified by the Lord!
What great news it is that God is both with us and sanctifying our work. I pray that we will realize this and hold on to this reality. Let us not doubt the ability of the Lord to make holy our small efforts and to multiply these efforts (like the fish and the loaves) to feed many people!
Pastor Michael Johnson 