Have you ever experienced the discouraging thought that the small, seemingly insignificant efforts you make in your daily life won't make a difference, won't contribute to any meaningful change, or won't have any impact on the world around you or the Kingdom of God?
If you feel like this, then you need to know you are not alone.
I get you. I understand that feeling of inadequacy all too well.
You may be thinking some of the same thoughts I do, but insert your own ________.
I am just a wife and a mom who works part-time in ministry and occasionally writes blogs for the glory of God.
But I don't feel like it is amounting to much because I tend to judge my human standards of visual success.
Or some other thoughts that may be running through your mind:
I am too young to make an impact.
I am too new in my faith to lead someone to the Life Changer Jesus.
My minuscule efforts won't amount to much of a kingdom impact.
I don't have what it takes.
My testimony isn't as good as ________.
I don't have enough to do what God calls me to do.
I am sure there are many more excuses to add to the list of why we think we are too minuscule to make a meaningful impact. What we see as minuscule, God sees the potential for a miracle.
Let me tell you this.
All you need to make a kingdom of God impact is a "yes" to doing what God has asked you to do.
That's it.
A simple "Yes, Lord!" and God will handle the rest.
If you are like me, your heartfelt desire is to impact the kingdom of God significantly. We strive to hear, "Well done, my good and faithful servant!"
I understand that to others, it may seem like I have the potential to make a significant impact in the world. However, I often struggle with self-doubt and find myself succumbing to the pressure of achieving worldly success. Sometimes, my mind convinces me that I am not capable of making a difference.
I am grateful that God has taken the time to rewire my mind to understand that my faithfulness will lead to an impact when my yes is left in His capable hands. I trust that HE can do all things in me and through me, according to the gifts He has given me, for the impact that He has perfectly created me for - no matter how big or small.
I believe that the only way we can make a "bad" impact is if we make no effort at all. Fruitless efforts are simply no efforts at all, which would be just lazy. I would like to remind you of the words spoken by Paul:
I want to dive deep into a beautiful Biblical miracle story that centers around a seemingly small act of obedience by someone who often gets overlooked. Yet, this act of obedience has a tremendous impact on the lives of many, and its Kingdom impact is even bigger. It is a story that has been heard, told, and studied for thousands of years.
If you have a Bible, take some time to read through the only miracle story that is spoken about in all four Gospels: Matthew 14:13- 21; Mark 6:30- 44; Luke 9:10- 17; John 6:1- 15.
Jesus feeding the 5,000 (+) was a huge deal back then. Think of it as what it would be like to go viral today on TikTok... thousands witnessed a miracle.
Let's dive in: Jesus' disciples had no clue how they would pull off feeding the masses; they were exhausted, hungry, and ready to go home, eat, and hit the hay after an emotionally and physically draining day. The last thing they wanted to do after a tiresome day was make a meal for 5,000 +!
Put yourself in their shoes, would you?
They questioned Jesus after He said:
“Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” John 6:7
But here is where our secular minds take over: we forget how our God is a God of multiplication without the need of much human effort, just a simple yes with what we have and to obey the One who has called us to do something for His Kingdom.
We never know what yes of ours could lead to a miracle of God.
Let's take a look at one small, fine, yet divine detail of this miraculous story about a human that is nameless to us, not famous, never gets quoted, short in stature, but mighty in his response to Jesus.
“Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” John 6:8-9
Maybe you assume I am talking about the yes of Jesus' disciples.
But I am not.
I am talking about the faithfulness of the little boy who had no idea just how big of an impact he would make with his little gift of two fish, five loaves, and a faithful yes to Jesus.
Here is the hope we need to cling to: God can do miraculous things with what we
see as minuscule acts of obedience.
Your yes has significance.
Don't underestimate your obedience, and don't allow the enemy to take away what God wants to abundantly give because you feel as if your yes doesn't have as big of an impact as Sally down the street.
We are called to have child-like faith like this little nameless boy had.
This part of the story doesn't go into much detail about the little boy, his parents, where he came from, and whether he believed in the teachings of Jesus.
But I believe he must have had some childlike faith if He gave up a meal and entrusted it to the hands of Jesus.
A simple yes that has superhero significance once it is blessed by Jesus.
When you give what little you have to God, He can do what only He can do with what little we have to offer. God's math doesn't make sense to us because 2+5=7, but to God, it can equal whatever He needs it to equal to do what only He can do. Only He can multiply it to make a superhero-sized, memorable miracle story for the Glory of God.
Jesus didn't see the little boy as too young to help.
He saw the little gifts He had and then trusted God to do what only God can do and meet the needs of the people: Feed the masses.
How quickly do we judge by only what we see without taking into consideration what God can do with even the smallest of gifts?
“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward, he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted." John 6:10-11
Your gift, your "yes," your sacrifice, your efforts for God's glory are never in vain. Don't let excuses stop you from making a Kingdom impact. Be faithful to God and trust in His ability to multiply even the smallest of offerings. Remember, your seemingly small gift can have a significant impact in the hands of the God of multiplication.
Nothing we give God in faith will ever go to waste. The abundance He supplies can't be wasted.
"Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” John 6:12
Our small yes has the power to bless the multitude when blessed by the hands of Jesus.
This young boy, ever so small, couldn't see the big significant role he would play that centuries later, everyone would read about and pass over. And neither can we.
Don't put God in a box.
We must believe that Jesus is a God of multiplication, and we may not get to see the significance of our obedience right away, and that's okay because it's not about us anyway.
Remember:
There is...
No gift is too small.
No sacrifice that is not worth it.
No testimony that doesn't need to be heard.
No such thing as not significant.
No such thing as too young, old, or new.
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