Small starts in following God should not discourage us, and can lead to great things.   #daybydaylw   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   Look with me at 2 Samuel 2:10-11. We get a bit of a timeline. Saul’s son, Ish-bosheth reigned for two years over Israel. David reigned seven and a half years. And what we will learn later in 2 Samuel is that as soon as Ish-bosheth dies, David becomes king over all of Israel. So that means for five and half years, David was king over one tribe—Judah. Do you know what that is? That is patience. “Lord, am I not the one you anointed in a private ceremony 10 years ago, saying I would be the next king? Was I not anointed publicly in Judah? When then, LORD? Now seems like a great time!” And this is what I want us to see—David’s reign over God’s Kingdom starts small because David seeks God’s guidance and will, because David is obedient, because David is patient. In other words, the small start was not because David wasn’t brave enough or dynamic enough or risky enough. It’s not that David’s dreams and vision were too small, but rather, it was God’s design, even though David has the men that are described to be like an army of God (1 Chronicles 12:20-22) How are you with “small” starts? “Small” ministry? “Small” impact? What do you do, how do you respond when God’s work doesn’t start like you think it should? God lays a burden on your heart, a ministry, and you have these grand visions of what it could be. You assemble a team, you cast your vision, and then…it’s not the what you had hoped for. But isn’t this the pattern we see time and again in scripture? Jesus says in the gospels that the kingdom is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, and like a little leaven hidden in three measures of flour. Think about those descriptions—smallest of all seeds, hidden in three measures of flour. The emphasis is on the inconspicuous beginnings and subtle spread of the kingdom of God. By Jesus’ time, we are thousands of years into God’s kingdom, and yet Jesus is still comparing it a mustard seed. Do not begrudge small starts in ministry life. Do not disdain small, slow, steady, stable growth. Do not think that God has forsaken a ministry, or a church, because of smallness. God loves to work in the shadows, chiseling away, changing.