“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”
Zechariah 4:10
When you are pursuing your dreams, the above words can be a great comfort. This verse among others drive home the point that overnight success is not the norm and that small beginnings are many times God’s way of grooming and refining you for greater things! Before I give the “but” to this idea, I want to highlight how important this is. God rarely gives someone charge over much before he is proven faithful over little. We need to honor the season that we are in and pursue what God has for us and wants to teach us in the moment. We cannot expect to build on our character and our experience without challenges and opportunities to live out what God is weaving into our hearts. Sometimes we get multiple tries at the same lesson. We start small and we may stay small―for longer than we would like. The question I have for you today is: Are you staying small because you are holding humble beginnings in both hands?
I have been thinking about this verse a lot lately. I began thinking about how solid and true it is to honor the season and stage you are in while you pursue bigger and “scarier” things. I saw it like this: You need to hold humble beginnings in one hand and big goals in the other. If you only hold humble beginnings (with both hands), you can fall prey to complacency. Your humble surroundings will become so comfortable that it is hard to branch out. You secure your place with wisdom like “do not despise humble beginnings…” and it keeps you so humble that you begin to despise lofty aspirations. This was never meant to be a piece of limiting wisdom. We need to hold these humble beginnings in their proper place. With respect as a wise beginning, not the final destination. If you are on a path to something greater, don’t get caught in the trap of humility. The Enemy can use it to ensnare you into believing that pursuing bigger possibilities is prideful or egotistical. As long as your heart is right (which the Enemy knows nothing of) you can freely pursue your dreams to the fullest! So grab that humble beginning firmly in one hand.
The other hand needs to dig in and grasp the fact that we serve a big God! The God that is in charge of executing Ephesians 3:20:
“Now to the one who can do infinitely more than all we can ask or imagine according to the power that is working among us.”
We know that God, whom we love and serve, loves us infinitely more than we can comprehend. He gave us the Holy Spirit to indwell in us and work through us to accomplish the things placed in our heart from our inception. He cares about our heart’s desires. He cares about our passions and can work through all sorts of avenues to display his love to others. Your work, your passion is one of those avenues! When you partner with God on your life’s endeavors, he shows up. He often times starts us off small. He often grows us through adversity and blessings alike. We almost all start out small, but the ones who reach a higher potential are the ones who have humble beginnings in one hand and big goals in the other. They are content with their season, but not complacent. They respect where they are, but have faith for more.
The Kingdom is in an ever-expanding state. The heart of God is to grow you. We should always be pursuing growth in some form or fashion. Your rate of growth is as individual as your thumbprint. God knows what you can handle and he sees the future. I also have learned that success is not defined the same in the world as it is in the Kingdom of God. I want to be successful according to God, not the world. However, I never want to be stagnant. My growth rate is up to God, my decision to grow is mine and mine alone.
Humble beginnings, small steps, slow growth―all good things. They are not the only things. Include big goals, goals that scare you a little (or a lot). If you could see the ways and means of achieving every goal you have within your own power, what do you need God for? Dream past your own current ability. I have yet to regret doing just that.