Be Faithful in the Little Things

"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac..."

Hebrews 11:17

There was a progression of growth in Abraham's faith that led him to Mount Moriah and enabled him to bind his son and lay him on the altar. The sacrifice of his son wasn't the first command of God. The first was, "Go forth from your country...to a land I will show you."

In other words, Abraham's first call from God was, "Follow Me."

Interesting, huh?

Why did Abraham pack up and wander to a strange land? Why did the fishermen leave their nets and spend the next three years serving, listening, feeding, and following a carpenter's son? The calls were the same and so were the responses.

Being a follower of Jesus starts with obedience to a call, then the growth begins. It starts small and for the Bob Wiley in all of us, we begin to take baby steps behind our Father. Life offers trials and tribulations and we continue to follow the One who sits on the throne of our heart. Sometimes they are small and other times they are massive, but every step is one step stronger as we grow in our faith. We may slip back a step or two here or there, but God is overseeing our growth process and as I Corinthians 10:13 tells us, we are not tempted beyond what we are able - God always provides a way of escape so that we can endure.

Baby steps.

Growth.

By the time God required Abraham to give up his son, his faith was strong enough to endure the call. He had learned to be faithful in the little things so that when the major test came, he didn't have to weigh his options. He didn't argue or complain. He simply took another step of faith, keeping his eyes on the promises of God - that's all he needed.

Unfortunately, today believers struggle with the little things. We don't faithfully walk day by day, keeping our eyes on Jesus and growing in our knowledge and confidence of Him. So when the bigger issues arise, we falter. What is happening to our growth process? Can we look back to last year and see maturity in our lives? Or is our growth stunted?

I promise the big trials are coming. Today determine to actively and aggressively grow in your relationship with Jesus through careful study of His word. Let His word permeate your mind and your heart and give you the confidence of the reality of its truths. As James MacDonald once said, you cannot have success in the crisis until you have success in the process. Don't expect to suddenly develop strong spiritual disciplines in the midst of the crisis - develop them now.

Be faithful in the little things so that when the big things come, you naturally walk by faith.