EMB EP 26 | Go Small to Grow Big

Everything Made Beautiful (00:59) Well, hey everybody, welcome back to the Everything Made Beautiful podcast. We are talking about sacred choices, the beauty of yes and no in every season. And this will be the last of these sacred choices episodes. And then next week I have the chance to interview really one of my childhood heroes. And I can't believe I got to talk to her and you will find out more about her next week, but don't miss that episode. So we're going to wrap up this kind of January series on sacred choices and talking all about yes and no. And today's focuses on those moments when we say a quiet yes, perhaps unnoticed by the world, but it leads to profound changes in our hearts and lives. And God often begins big things in our lives with small obedience. In Zechariah Chapter four, verse 10, we read, do not despise these small beginnings for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. Well, this scripture I love, it kind of comes out of nowhere, but it reminds us that even the smallest actions can hold divine significance. So the context of this scripture is that the Israelites were rebuilding the temple after returning from exile. It was a monumental task, but it began with small, really kind of unremarkable steps. The message from God through Zechariah was a reminder not to underestimate the small starts. In our lives, we often overlook the beginnings of God's work because frankly, they don't seem impressive enough. But just as God delighted in the initial stones that were being laid for the temple, He rejoices when we take faithful small steps of obedience. These small beginnings reflect trust in God's faithfulness and acknowledgement that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Small beginnings are where God lays the foundation for something greater. Now a solid foundation isn't glamorous admittedly, but it is essential. Jesus talked about this in Luke chapter six when he compared the two builders which you've heard, one who built his house on the rock and one who built his house on the sand. The house on the rock stood firm as the song says because it had a strong foundation. Well, similarly, unseen yeses like daily faithfulness, prayer and obedience fortify us against the inevitable storms of life. Without these small preparatory steps, any success that comes may just collapse under the weight of responsibility and adversity. We see this a lot with like overnight success. It often presents itself as a shortcut to purpose and impact, but it's a dangerous illusion to think that overnight success is healthy. The sudden elevation of status or influence without the refinement of preparation can lead to pride, burnout, or spiritual collapse. History is filled with stories of leaders whose rapid rise led to their fall because their character hadn't been shaped by the slow refining process of small obedience. King Saul is a cautionary example of this, anointed as Israel's first king, handsome, successful, had everything he needed to be successful. But his failure to cultivate humility and trust in God led to his downfall. We don't just see this with scriptural examples of leaders whose rapid rise led to their fall. We've seen it really sadly all over evangelicalism, especially it seems recently and with increasing regularity. God uses seasons of small beginnings to strengthen our character. deepen our roots and prepare us for what lies ahead. We talked last week about Joseph having a dream that was given to him of what his life would eventually be, but then he went through a long season of preparation. And preparation seasons are not punishment, they're protection. David spent years as a shepherd and a fugitive before becoming king. During this time, he learned leadership, dependence on God, and humility, qualities that would sustain him through the pressures of kingship. Had he bypassed these years of preparation, he may not have had the resilience to handle the throne. And we even saw with David, who had had years of preparation, Samuel anointed him as king, and then there were years before that actually came to pass. And even David, with years of preparation under his belt, struggled mightily with sin. Imagine a skyscraper being built without taking the time to ensure the foundational supports are strong. The taller the building, they say, the deeper the foundation must go. Well, our spiritual lives are no different. The height of our impact is determined by the depth of our surrender and our preparation. Without this structural integrity, rapid success can become a burden rather than a blessing. So small, faithful yeses like choosing patience, humility, and service, they anchor us for greater assignments. Unchecked growth can also lead to spiritual brittleness, I would say. When influence outpaces intimacy with God, we are left vulnerable. Jesus actually modeled the opposite. He often withdrew to quiet places to pray. He prioritized communion with his father over public acclaim. His ministry's power came from a deep, unseen reservoir of trust and obedience. If you and I pursue visible results without cultivating unseen faithfulness, we too risk becoming hollow, unable to sustain the weight of influence, much like Saul. We must go small in order to grow big. Small beginnings teach us to trust God's timing. Zechariah 410 tells us not to despise small beginnings because God delights in the process as much as the outcome. The world often celebrates fast growth and immediate results, but God celebrates faithfulness in the unseen. Every small act of obedience is like a brick laid in the foundation of our calling. Faithfulness and obscurity prepares us for fruitfulness in visibility. Resist the temptation to bypass the small beginnings God has ordained for your growth. Remember that He is building something far more significant than you can see. Trust the process. lean into the daily unseen yeses and know that what feels small today could become a cornerstone in his greater story of your life tomorrow. Think about moments in your life when you hesitated because your effort seemed insignificant. Have you ever felt that your small yes wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things? Well, scripture shows us that God multiplies our faithfulness beyond what we can imagine. and it uses small obedience as to shape legacies of faith and transformation. It can be tempting to believe that only grand gestures for God matter, especially in this day and age when everything seems to be for public consumption and there's cameras everywhere and videos everywhere and everything can be captured and documented. But God actually delights in faithful small steps. When we embrace this, it shifts our perspective on what obedience looks like. Faithfulness in small things demonstrates a heart that trusts God even when the outcome seems invisible or insignificant. Think of how planting a seed seems like an unremarkable act, yet it contains the potential for a flourishing tree. Similarly, when we show up with a small yes, whether it's being present with a loved one, sharing an encouraging word or spending quiet moments in prayer. We create space for God to move in profound ways. These small choices add up to a life of deep spiritual formation and it can open doors we never expected. The size of the action doesn't determine its eternal significance. It's the posture of our hearts that matters. In John 6 9, think about the little boy with the loaves and fish. He had a small lunch, but he offered it anyway. He didn't say, hey, I don't have anything to give. He said, here's what I have to give. Then Jesus took that small yes and multiplied it to feed thousands. I think of small yeses in my life as building spiritual muscle. Daily quiet obedience is like forgiving someone which is so hard and it's so unseen. Showing kindness or serving especially serving when it's inconvenient these small yeses just between us and the Lord prepare us for bigger moments of impact. When you're faithful in small things, you're learning trust, courage, and surrender. You're learning to be okay with no one looking. Small yeses have ripple effects that we can't see. I've taught on the book of Ruth, and Ruth's small yes to follow Naomi. she could not possibly have realized that that yes would lead to a lineage that would include titans like king david who we've already talked about but ultimately jesus when we say yes to small things we're inviting god to weave them into his greater story When Ruth decided to stay with Naomi, it was not a decision made with the hope of fame or recognition. She could not have known what we know now, as is the case with so many of the stories we read in scripture and these narratives of the faithful. Ruth's yes was a quiet yes. It was rooted in love and loyalty. But that one small act became a pivotal moment in salvation history. Well, our small acts of obedience are no different. They often plant seeds in the lives of others that grow into something far greater than we could ever imagine. And it's sometimes weird to equate our obedience with the obedience of characters in scripture. That sometimes seems like blasphemous or not the right way to use scripture, but scriptural people were people. I've said before, they're not superheroes with magical powers, they are people who were empowered. In the same way, you and I are people following God in our time and in our culture who are empowered by his spirit toward obedience. Think of a teacher who encourages a student or a friend who shows up consistently during difficult times. These small yeses ripple out into new relationships, decisions and stories and paths and trajectories we may never see on this side of heaven. But trust that even when your yes seems invisible, it carries the potential to impact eternity. So is They're a small step of faith you feel led to take. it been kind of sitting with you or maybe eating at you? Is there some seemingly small way where you feel like the Holy Spirit's been prompting you to say yes to obey? Well, what's the worst that can happen if you obey? Many small yeses happen in private. Praying faithfully for someone, doing the unseen work of loving your family well, especially if you're loving a difficult family member well, showing integrity when no one is watching and no one will ever know. They might feel invisible, but these choices are seen and valued by God. Scripture shows us over and over that unseen obedience is precious to God. Think of how Jesus highlights the widow's offering. a small unseen act that demonstrated deep faith in Mark chapter 12. Or in Matthew 6, he reminds us that what we do in secret is seen by our Father who rewards us. Private faithfulness isn't wasted, but it's honored in heaven. Theologically, God's nature is one who values the heart. over appearances. We see that in first Samuel 16 about David. When we serve unseen, we reflect Christ himself who washed the disciples feet. That was a very unseen to the world but specific act of obedience setting an example for us. Small private obedience are like drops in an ocean. They seem small on their own, but they contribute to waves of transformation. Unseen prayers of parents for their children. I can't tell you how many times when no one, even Jeff, was around I have warred for my children. daily choices of integrity in workplaces where no one is standing up and clapping for you when you do the right thing. But all these moments build resilience and they shape character in ways that prepare us for public faithfulness. Listening to God and asking where he wants our small yeses begins with a heart posture of surrender though. Psalm 46 10 and you know it. says, still and know that I am God. In the stillness we position ourselves to hear his voice amid the noise of our desires but also our fears and our distractions. Listening to God is not about achieving mystical clarity but about attuning our hearts through scripture, prayer, and the Holy Spirit's prompting so that we know the voice of the Spirit. Romans 12 to reminds us to be transformed by the renewal of our minds so that we may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Well, discerning God's voice requires knowing his character and recognizing that he will never lead us contrary to his word. So discerning whether God is calling us to a yes or a no. often involves navigating a sacred tension. A sacred yes to God often means a no to something else. For example, Jesus discerned his mission through constant communion with the Father. And in Luke 22 at Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done. Jesus had discerned the Father's will and in this moment in Gethsemane it was in tension with his own will and desire for his life. This exemplifies a sacred wrestling between our desires and God's will. Don't be tempted to think that when you are hesitant or struggling with what you know God's will to be, that that necessarily means that you're wrong or you're sinful. Jesus modeled for us what sacred wrestling looks like, but ultimately Jesus said yes to the cross. He was fully aware of the cost of the cross and the profound implications for humanity, and he said yes. Understanding God's yes or no is not about demanding answers, but about trusting His wisdom. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Sometimes God's no is painful precisely because it doesn't align with our limited understanding. But even in disappointment, we're invited to believe that His ways are higher than ours. When we yield to His guidance, we participate in His redemptive work, whether the yes leads us forward or the no invites us to wait or change direction. Obedience to God is never trivial. It carries eternal significance. Throughout scripture, we see how small yeses change the course of history. Abraham's yes to leave his homeland without knowing where he was going shaped the nation of Israel and the unfolding of God's promises. Esther's yes to risk her life before the king saved her people from annihilation. each yes demonstrated faith in God's sovereignty and played a part in his larger story of redemption that they could not see at the time. I've told you before that I grew up in legalism like I grew up with an understanding that I had to obey in order to be received by God. I needed to obey in order to be okay with God. But theologically, obedience is not about legalism or earning God's favor. It is about responding to the grace we've already received. When we listen to Him and obey, then we align our lives with his purpose. We invite his power to work through us, but he has already responded in grace and it is then our privilege to obey. The most profound example of obedience, as you know, is found in Jesus himself. Hebrews 5 8 says, although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. This does not mean that Jesus was ever disobedient. But he did fully embrace the human experience of submitting to the Father's will amid suffering so that you and I could be certain that when we're asked to do the same, Jesus has already walked there before us. He's the model for our lives. And his yes to the Father's plan changed the course of history, defeating sin and death and reconciling humanity to God. Though small in comparison, our obedience, our small yeses, do participate in the ongoing story of redemption. Obedience is sacred for us. It involves the surrender of our will to God's perfect plan. Obedience is costly, but it's also the pathway to joy. Hebrews 12.2 says, for the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross. When you're faced with the sacred choice of yes or no, remember that God's invitations are always for your good and his glory. Listen for his voice with a heart attuned to his word, trust in his wisdom. Even when the way is unclear, remember that your obedience, like Christ's, can become part of a greater story that magnifies his goodness. What is a small yes that you can challenge yourself to say this week. It can be as simple as sending a note of encouragement to that person who's been on your mind. Perhaps you've told a friend that you will pray for them and you pause and devote time to that prayer. Maybe there is a goal or a dream that God has placed on your heart and you've been hesitating in fear and you can take one next right step as a small yes of obedience. On this week's small yeses worksheet you can record your daily yeses. You can reflect on how God is using these seemingly small obedient to shape your life. choices are before us every single day. This whole year of 2025 is going to be full of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of sacred choices. As people who are following Jesus we are not people who only say yes or no and those be sacred when they're about big flashy overtly spiritual things. Sacred yes or no is part of us because we are sacredly part of him. My yes to respond to my children in love is sacred. My no to not participate in that thing because it gives me a check in my spirit is sacred. Your yes to reach out to that person that's been on your heart is sacred. Your no to that job opportunity or that promotion because it compromises a conviction is sacred. Every yes or no for you and me is sacred because of our sacred relationship with Jesus Christ. coming more like Him with our sacred yeses and our sacred nos. So remember, the small beginnings, the small yeses are often the start of something extraordinary in God's hands. Don't underestimate your small yes and don't underestimate your small no. It could be the seed of a miracle that you see play out in your life. Thanks so much for joining me for these three episodes on yeses and nos. It just felt important and profound to start the year really intentionally considering what our decision making sets in motion in our lives. I hope that there's been something helpful and profitable for you in these episodes. And if so, would you be kind enough to share them with somebody, maybe somebody who's making some critical decisions in their lives or has some on the horizon for this year. And as always, I'm prayerful that you are seeing as a result of being involved in this everything made beautiful journey that we serve a god who is constantly bringing beauty from ashes he is restoring what the locusts have eaten he is tending to the gaps and the breaches and he's mending and repairing it's just what he does he's repairer of the breach and he restores what is broken. And so it's my prayer that you're encouraged and I look forward to seeing you back next week for a really sweet interview that I'm so grateful that I got to have and I'd love to hear from you. If there's a way that God is working in your life and if he's using any of what is shared to encourage you in your faith, it encourages me in my faith to hear from you. So you can reach out. at info at shannonsuzannescott.com or on social media and I hope you'll download the worksheet and you'll use it in your time with God maybe to dig a little deeper into what the sacred yeses and nos can look like in your life as God continues to make everything beautiful. We'll see you next time.