Trusting God with Small Beginnings
Your Nightly Prayer
TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE
Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be. Job 8:7
SOMETHING TO PONDER
This entry reminds you that God is not embarrassed by small starts.
Isn’t it crazy to think that every life-changing relationship you have in your life began with a simple first hello? My husband of almost 20 years was just a teenage boy I met in my Senior year of High School. When we met, I teased him for being interested in my younger sister (thank goodness that didn’t work out). I would never have guessed that this cute 18-year-old boy would become the most important relationship of my life. Unbelievably, decisions I made as a clueless teenager have led to a whole life being built between us, now including six kids, seven chickens, and a whole lot of love.
All the work God does in our lives starts with a simple ‘yes’ to the gentle guiding of the Holy Spirit, and then it is followed by our faithful steps forward. We rarely know how important something will become at the start. When God opens a door, we have to trust He knows where He is taking us! Faith is what propels us towards the next right step forward in our lives.
It’s foolish to evaluate the impact of our small beginnings. We never fully know the impact of even our smallest acts of faith. God can use even the faith of a mustard seed to move mountains.
How could we know how many people's lives will be changed by our decision to financially support a missionary working across the globe? We will never know how many kids will choose to follow Jesus because we showed up to serve in Kids’ Church. Only God knows how our decision to stop and ask the grocery store clerk if we could pray for them changes their lives.
God alone knows the full impact of our faithfulness. He calls us to be obedient to the leading of his Spirit; it’s not our job to be successful. Every act of faith has purpose in God’s Kingdom.
Everything we do is for the Lord and not for men (Colossians 3:23-24). This mindset changes everything. There is no task, role, or circumstance in our lives that does not matter to the Lord. It’s all for his glory. He uses the work of our hands for his purposes. Our lives are to be a holy offering to the Lord.
Our faithful work changing diapers, cleaning toilets, or sweeping floors is holy. These things aren’t any less valued in God’s Kingdom. In the Kingdom of Heaven, our reach, number of followers, or the size of our platform does not impact our holiness level. It’s our faithful commitment to live by the Fruits of the Spirit that defines our impact in God’s Kingdom. So embrace those small beginnings! All of it matters to Jesus.
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Father, I thank you that everything I do is for you. None of my efforts are wasted because it is all for your glory. Bless my small beginnings. Multiply the work of my hands. Help me to discern which things in my life I need to stay faithful in and which things I need to let go of. Strengthen me as I do the work you have called me to do. Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
Reflect on your other ‘small beginnings.’ How would your life be different if you had not been faithful in those situations?
Consider your focus. Are you offering your work to the Lord as worship, or are you more focused on achieving worldly success?
What excites you most about this small beginning?
Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit: ©iStockGettyImagesPlusNiseriN
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Originally published Thursday, 20 August 2026.
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