March 2022

Think small. These words are the antithesis of our world today. Shouldn’t we think BIG? Shouldn’t we be influencers with tens of thousands of followers? I mean really, if we are gonna do anything, shouldn’t we go for the gusto?

Well, maybe, but, more often than not, it’s probably more fruitful to go the old fashion route. Start where you are, do the slow patient labor of one task, one person, one focus as you form relationships, grow your family, build a career, and live life.

Take a few minutes to reflect back on the people who made a difference in your life. For me, my most profound memories are of family and friends who raised me, taught me, mentored me, and most importantly, rolled up their sleeves and hung with me when it was tedious, boring, and no reward was in sight.

Where am I going with this? Personal ministry. If you are like me, the pandemic altered many things. What I would have said was my ministry before March 2020 is now drastically different. My circles have become smaller, my weekly rhythms are completely new, and my priorities have changed.

Earlier this month I was listening to Tom’s Priority Living 2 Timothy 4:1-22 lesson at https://www.prioritylivingaz.org/audio-archives/2014/6/26/2-timothy-41-22 and it got me thinking. What is my ministry now? Who are the people I am pouring into in this season of life? What am I doing in my sphere of influence to share the Gospel? How am I making the invisible God visible and speaking the truth boldly?

I have a lot of questions and not a lot of answers. Maybe you do too. How did the pandemic change your rhythms? Who are the people in your life these days? Are you ministering to them or they to you? Do you believe that the small, seemingly ordinary, and insignificant moments of life have no consequence? In God’s Kingdom, they are HUGE. He sees everything you do. He knows your heart. He knows YOU – past, present, and future. Inside and out.

In 2 Timothy 4:6-7, Paul gives a quick assessment of his life; “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Paul fought, finished, and kept. He completed his ministry, and its effects continue to this day. His daily choices led to a life lived for Christ.

I hope you’ll reexamine, refresh, and reorient yourself to the ministry God has given you.

Think small. Be steadfast, consistent, and persevere. It is in the tiny, quiet moments that life is lived. Your ordinary will be extraordinary in God’s Kingdom.