Faithful in Little Things

And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. Luke 19:17.
Talents used are talents multiplied. Success is not the result of chance or of destiny; it is the outworking of God’s own providence, the reward of faith and discretion, of virtue and persevering effort. The Lord desires us to use every gift we have; and if we do this, we shall have greater gifts to use. He does not supernaturally endow us with the qualifications we lack; but while we use that which we have, He will work with us to increase and strengthen every faculty….
Through faith in the power of God, it is wonderful how strong a weak man may become, how decided his efforts, how prolific of great results. He who begins with a little knowledge, in a humble way, and tells what he knows, while seeking diligently for further knowledge, will find the whole heavenly treasure awaiting his demand. The more he seeks to impart light, the more light he will receive….
The man [in the parable] who received the one talent “went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.”
It was the one with the smallest gift who left his talent unimproved. In this is given a warning to all who feel that the smallness of their endowments excuses them from service for Christ. If they could do some great thing, how gladly would they undertake it; but because they can serve only in little things, they think themselves justified in doing nothing. In this they err. The Lord in His distribution of gifts is testing character. The man who neglected to improve his talent proved himself an unfaithful servant. Had he received five talents, he would have buried them as he buried the one….
However small your talent, God has a place for it. That one talent, wisely used, will accomplish its appointed work. By faithfulness in little duties, we are to work on the plan of addition, and God will work for us on the plan of multiplication. These littles will become the most precious influence in His work.
The Faith I Live By p. 163
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Prayer Requests
—- Please keep a good friend of mine (Craig ) and his family in your prayers. He was seriously injured in a motor vehicle crash yesterday. Walt
—- Prayers appreciated for a fractured lumbar disk, in my back. Maggie
—-update—Sheryl is home resting comfortably. Thank you for your prayers. Eileen
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Dear Friends,
In1896, when my grandmother was five, she lived in a room at the back of a big hotel with her two older sisters and brother. Her mother had married a traveling salesman who only came home long enough to get her mother pregnant again. He did not contribute any income except on the rare occasions when he was in town so Jennie was basically a single mom raising four children at a time when being such was difficult indeed. Thankfully she was an excellent cook and found a job working as a baker at the hotel. Rarely did the children get to do anything fun. They were not allowed outside because the hotel owner did not want them bothering the guests and they were thin and pale from being cooped up in that apartment so much of the time. Blanche, the oldest, had the job of cleaning, cooking, and watching her brother and sisters. Life was hard.
One day her mother came home with a smile on her careworn face. She had a nice surprise for her little brood. The hotel owner had let her take the afternoon off from work for an outing and even gave her some leftover food so they could have a picnic. Not only that, but as a reward for her good work, he let her borrow his horse and wagon. The children were delighted! Leslie, her only son, drove the team.
As they rode along, Ida marveled at the new sights and sounds of the outside world. To a five year old used to being cooped up in a tiny room all day, this was a marvelous treat! Soon, they left the town behind and lumbered along a country road that paralleled the Kalamazoo River. At last they came to a nice grassy area that was just right for their picnic.
Ida jumped off from the wagon in great excitement. While the other children were helping unload the wagon, she started running around in the grass. How free she felt! How wonderful this place! Suddenly Ida realized that she couldn’t see the river because there was a hedge of bushes in the way. She began running full speed toward those bushes.
At that moment her mother saw her and shouted, “Ida! Stop!” Instantly the girl came to a standstill—right by the bushes. Her mother came running over to her youngest daughter. Holding her hand tightly, they took a few more steps and parted the bushes. On the other side was about a ten or fifteen foot drop-off to the river. If she had not instantly obeyed, she would have fallen and gotten terribly hurt or possibly killed. Ida’s instant and unquestioning obedience had saved her life.
Just as Ida obeyed her mother instantly and unquestioningly, so we must obey our Heavenly Father knowing that He knows what is best for us. We are in greater danger than falling off from a ten foot drop-off for our eternal life is at stake. We have a mighty foe, who is constantly urging us to fall to our spiritual death. Peter warns, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith.” 1 Peter 5:8, 9 Only by obedience to Christ are we safe from harm. What God said to Israel of old, He says to us, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.” Jer 7:23 “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed…then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:” Ex 19:5 ”
God’s Great Law has been given that we may be safe from the evil one who wants to destroy us. It is a hedge of protection around us. The first four commandments deal with our love and responsibility to our Great Creator. The last six are for the happiness of ourselves and those around us. “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.” Ps 119:9-12
Even our Dear Saviour obeyed His Father in Heaven. While on earth He lived such a life of obedience that He could say, “the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” John 14:30 The evil one, the “accuser of the brethren” could not find even one tiny sin to accuse Jesus before the Father. Jesus was not only our Perfect Sacrifice but also our Perfect Example. We have the privilege to follow His example by keeping the perfect law of liberty. (James 1:25, 2:12) John tells us, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” 1 John 2:6 Paul declares, “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;” Heb 5:9 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Rom 6:12-16
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.” Jude 24, 25
Rose