Little is Much (1)

Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2.3, 4

Waiting to stand
Their Light had left them – the Light of the world. For three years His presence shone among them, before the darkness of death consumed Him. Then, following His resurrection, an even greater radiance of light and understanding broke upon them as He taught them about the coming Kingdom of God.

But now He was gone. Their Light, it seemed, was spent. Would His Word come to pass? And could this “waiting” in prayer, which must have seemed like such a little thing, actually lead to the promised Spirit, and find them standing in the power and Kingdom of God?

They would have to wait and see – wait in prayer until God stood by His promise, so that they could stand in the Kingdom not of this world.

John Milton understood what it was like to lose your light – in his case, his eyesight – and to be left wondering what good could come from it. But he didn’t wonder for long. He knew that if all he could ever do, once his eyesight was gone, was simply stand and wait, then that’s what he would do:

When I consider how my light is spent,
 Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
 And that one Talent which is death to hide
 Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
 My true account, lest he returning chide;
 “Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
 I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
 Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
 Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
 And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest:
 They also serve who only stand and wait.[1]

After he had become completely blind, Milton composed one of the greatest poems in the English language, Paradise Lost. He stood in his calling and waited on the Lord, and God made much out his faithfulness.

Lessons from Milton
Milton’s sonnet reflecting on the loss of his eyesight contains important lessons for us about waiting and standing. Milton’s world in the 1660s had become small and dark, a little thing compared to his earlier career in publishing and government. But he waited in prayer and stood in his calling to compose because he understood it would be a terrible sin not to persist in serving God.

No matter how few our abilities, how small our windows of opportunity, how constrained our situation, or how insignificant we may consider our contribution, we must never forget that we are called to serve our Maker and Redeemer. Even if all we can do is wait on the Lord in prayer and stand firm in our testimony of faith, these are the kinds of beginnings that can lead to Spirit-empowered works for the Lord.

At the same time, we need to bear in mind the great privilege it is to serve God, even with the little we may have to offer. As Milton reminded himself, God has called us to serve. He expects us to serve, and not to offer flimsy excuses like, “But I’m going blind!” or “But all I can do is pray!” or “But I have so little to offer!” God doesn’t actually need the little we offer Him, but it pleases Him to receive and use our work and gifts – our loaves and fishes – be they ever so small. Myriads of heavenly beings carry out the cosmic rule of God, and it is our privilege to join them. Our job is to take up whatever “mild yoke” the Lord has assigned us, wait on Him in prayer, and stand firm in our calling. He will do the rest.

Little is much when God is in it, and when we wait faithfully on Him, offering every moment and small ability, each new beginning every day, we will find the Holy Spirit ready to empower us for works of faith, obedience, witness, love, and glory such as we have never dared to ask or think (Eph. 3.20).

Back in the upper room
In spite of his light being spent, John Milton stood in his calling as a poet and waited on the Lord to do a great work. He couldn’t see, but he could dictate, and he must have known, as his daughter read back the lines he’d composed that day, that his faithful God was making something very great out of the darkness of his little world.

Just as He did from that ten-day prayer meeting in Jerusalem so long ago.

By the end of that first day of witness in Jerusalem, thousands had come to faith in Jesus Christ. Can you imagine what it was like to gather with the apostles and their friends, back in that upper room, where they had waited in prayer for ten days? What wonder, what laughing and crying, what joy and praise must have resounded throughout that hall!

Their faithful waiting had paid off, and now they were standing in the Kingdom and power of God, ready to be used by Him to turn the world upside-down for Jesus Christ. They will stand firm in their faith and calling who wait faithfully on the Lord in all the little things of their life. For the Light which guides and transforms them, the Light of the world, is never spent.

Waiting on the Lord may seem a little thing, but God can make much of it. Wait faithfully on the Lord day by day, and He will make you stand in His glory.

For reflection
1.  What is your calling from God? What has He appointed to you as your place to stand for Him? Of what does that place to stand consist?

2.  Do you wait daily on the Lord before you go out into your place to stand for Him, in your Personal Mission Field? Do you pray about all the little opportunities you might have in the day ahead? How can you use those prayers to prepare for the Spirit to fill you with power?

3.  Will you see any other believers today? How will you encourage them to wait for and stand in the Lord?

Next steps – Preparation: Review your daily preparations and opportunities for serving the Lord. How can you improve your “waiting” so that your “standing” is more fruitful?

T. M. Moore

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This week’s study is part 3of a 3-part series, The Small Stuff. Each part consists of seven lessons and is available as a free PDF download at the end of the study. In the tag for part 7, we’ll give you a link to download part 3, “Little is Much.” Why not line up some friends to study through all three parts of this series?

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.