Little Can Be Much

Bill Brinkworth

Somehow, many Christians have gotten it into their heads that if God is blessing someone there will be prosperity and ease. Perhaps some of that thinking was drummed into them through the “prosperity Gospel” crowd, who teach that God wants you to be rich and gives one an easy life if they are right with him. Maybe it is our own natural thinking that makes us believe that any problems can only mean that we are not right with God and His hand is against us. That teaching is not evidenced in the Bible often, however.

There were times when God gave peace and prosperity to some at certain times. The majority of the times God’s evidence of power is more evident during “bad” and troubled times. Those times can get one closer to Him and allow one to see God's mighty power.

His miracles were and are performed with the most irrational objects, and resulted in the most illogical solutions. Often God works with a little, rather than much. Yet, when all was finished, there was no question that God had done a great thing with just a little. Some of these great supernatural occurrences were:

The earth was created in six days by God only, not over millions of years, and not by many different "accidents,” or a big bang. Being created by one God is not the way that a “natural” man would understand. A lot was accomplished with just a little of God's time.
The people were scattered at the tower of Babel; not by a disease, not by an enemy, but by a "little" confusion of languages. From that small instance, people were scattered and civilization was spread.
Moses and God’s people had a way of escape from the encroaching enemy when he simply stretched his rod over the sea. They watched as God took an “impossible” method to open the Red Sea for them to cross to safety. A little wind parted a big sea.

The walls of a protected enemy were knocked down by a simple shout at Jericho; not ramming machines, nor by a vast army. A big victory was accomplished by an incident that would hardly be expected to knock those mighty, double walls inward.
Naaman’s leprosy was cured by simply dipping in the Jordan River seven times, not by some doctor’s cure or some super drug. A little obedience healed the man in a big way.
Gideon was vastly out-numbered, but got the huge victory in battle with only 300 men, lamps, pitchers, and their shouts.
Under-sized David slew his adversary with a small, smooth stone propelled from his unthreatening sling.
Vast enemies were chased by little, God-controlled hornets.
Five, small barley loaves and two fishes fed over 5,000 people.
A blind man’s sight was restored not by surgery or some miracle cure, but by a little spittle and clay.
Sins of man can be forgiven simply by Jesus’ paying for them 2,000 years ago by the blood He shed on Calvary, not by our good works or our payment for them. The death of one "man,” Christ, became the most important action in man's history.

Anyone can get by with the help of millions of dollars; there’s not much miracle in that. There is not always proof that God is in the solution when money bought the way out of the problem. When there is plenty in the checkbook, just about anybody can change any situation. Solving situations with plenty is not necessarily God’s fingerprint on the solution.

When God is involved in a situation, He must get the glory. He will get the credit when a "little" does the impossible. Nothing is impossible when God is in the matter. God's involvement is often evident when a little goes a long way and does great and wondrous things. Little is much when God is in it, because God can do anything He desires with anything!

This lesson was featured in The Bible View #83.