Small Beginnings

It’s hard to see it, in the moment…when you’re in the middle of it. Maybe it feels like nothing has changed. Maybe you feel like nothing will ever change. But where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Freedom from whatever it is that might be holding you down. Do you need healing in an area of your life? Do you desire to move forward? The bible tells us that in the presence of the Lord, we will experience the restoration that we need; He will show us the path forward. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17 NLT) But restoration is a process. When God restores our lives, He does so from the inside out. He begins in the depths of our heart and soul. Mending broken pieces there, and re-aligning us with His perfect will. God will not begin His work with the outward appearance of our lives. He will not begin with the things that we can see. He always ensures that we have a firm foundation, before building us into who He created us to be. This means that we will not see the work at first. This means that it may seem like there is a lack of progress. But the word of God tells us not to despise the small beginnings, because He is rejoicing over what He knows to be true…that we will become who He has created us to be, and that our lives will bring glory to His name. Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” (Zechariah 4:10 NLT) This scripture is the word of the Lord spoken to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah that was chosen to rebuild the Temple. When God spoke to him, He said not to despise the small beginnings, because He would rejoice over them. God knew that the process of building a vast temple would take years, and he knew that this would cause the Israelites to get discouraged. But He mentioned something else. He said that He rejoices “to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” What is a plumb line? A plumb line is a tool that is used in construction as a vertical reference line. Pastor Kevin Graves says is like this, “This simple yet remarkable instrument was used to ensure a vertical line was ‘true’ or plumb. It was employed to make sure what you built wasn’t crooked; that, as the structure grew taller, it wouldn’t topple…” (Graves.) Without this plumb line, the builder risks building a structure that is misaligned, and thus, compromised. This is what God does when He begins a new work. This is what He does in our lives. He goes to the root, laying each foundational stone…ensuring that each stone is aligned with His word, so that when His work is complete, our lives are built on solid ground. “Whenever Jesus is about to build, He drops a plumb line. It’s a sign that He must test us first. Are we well-aligned (plumb)? Can we bear weight? Like a Chief Architect or Inspector, He needs to assure that the structures we’ve built for Him will support the awesome things He’s about to do on earth.” (Graves.) The small beginning is purposeful. God covers us, and protects us, so that He can build us up, on a solid foundation. As Graves said, He wants to make sure that our foundation is strong enough to support what wants to do in and through our lives. And this solid foundation is found in our Savior. He is the one that can keep us rooted. He is the one that can anchor us down, so that when testing comes our way, we can sustain the calling that God has placed on our lives. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken. I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness. Since your refuge is made of lies, a hailstorm will knock it down. Since it is made of deception, a flood will sweep it away.(Isaiah 28:16-17 NLT) This is what the small beginning is for. This is the place where we can go deeper in our relationship with our Savior, and He begins to reveal more of himself to us. In the small beginning, we learn to depend on Him. We grow deeper in His word, and He shows us the truth. He removes those things that we have learned over the course of our lives, those things that don’t line up with His word…those things that prevent us from seeing the truth of what He wants to say to us. This is where our freedom comes from. Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 NLT) Freedom is found in the presence of God. In the presence of God, we learn the truth about what He says about us, and we learn the truth about what He has to say about our situations. Because honestly, many of the things that we deal with in life are the result of our thought processes, and how we think about situations. Just think about those things that you have been praying for. Maybe they are related to a relationship, maybe your finances, or even your health. When we pray, we are seeking for God to change the outward appearance of the situation. We want God to heal the relationship, we want Him to heal our finances, or our bodies. And while God cares about all of those things, He cares more about our hearts. He cares more about the inside of us. But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT) Your heart determines the course of your life. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. (Proverbs 4:23 NLT) This is interesting. But if we all take a step back, I think that we will see how our hearts direct our decisions. We make our decisions largely based on how we feel about a particular situation. There is no way around it. In fact, this is how our heavenly Father designed us. But we must understand that our hearts have the ability to lead us down a road that God never intended. “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? (Jeremiah 17:9 NLT) This is why Proverbs tells us to guard our hearts above all else. We have to protect our hearts from anything that could potentially expose us to the wickedness in the world. But we also know that we can’t protect ourselves from everything. And we all know that we have things in our hearts that we need the blood of Jesus to wash over. You see, the thing is that it is very easy to be led by the desires of our hearts. But we must not allow our hearts to have the final say in our lives. We must seek our Father, and allow Him to guide our hearts on the path that He has for us. We must allow Him to align our hearts with His word and His will. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. (Psalms 37:4 NLT) When we spend time in the presence of God, seeking Him, He gives us the desires of our hearts. I used to think that this scripture meant that God would give us those things that we desire. But as I continued to study, the Holy Spirit reveal that as we spend time with God, He transfers his desires into our hearts. Instead of wanting those things that we’ve always wanted, we begin to want those things that He wants for us. This is beautiful…but it can only be found when we spend time with Him. When we spend time with God, He renews our minds. We’ve seen how important it is that we guard our hearts, but we must also seek to guard our minds. Because while our decisions stem from the heart, it is ultimately our minds that lead us to make our decisions. Our minds are responsible for interpreting the feelings that come from our hearts. So we must make sure that we are able to interpret our feelings in a way that aligns with the will of God. Yes, we will have feelings…we are allowed to have feelings. We will have feelings of anger, resentment, and hurt—it’s only natural. But it’s what we do with the feelings that makes the difference. Will we allow our feelings to lead us away from God’s will, or will we allow God to transform the way that we think, so that we can walk the path that He has for us? This is why we can’t belittle the importance of the small beginning. Yes, God has a big plan for our lives. A plan that includes healing and wholeness, but He must transform our minds, so that we can sustain the blessed life that He has for us. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2 NLT) Our hearts and minds must be transformed in order to receive what God wants to do in our lives. This is the work that God is doing in this season. As you spend time in His presence, seeking His face and reading His word, He is renewing your mind, and healing your heart. He is giving you a heart that desires those things that He wants for you. He is renewing your mind, so that you can see things the way that He sees them. He is preparing you to receive the healing that you are praying for. God wants to put you in the position where you aren’t just healed…but you stay healed. He doesn’t want you to have a temporary testimony. He wants you to have a testimony that stands the test of time. I know it’s hard to wait. I know it can be discouraging. But like God said to Zerubbabel. Don’t despise these small beginnings. He is building something in you right now. He is healing some things in you, and transforming you right now…right where you are. Stay where you are…in His presence, and allow Him to mold you into who He’s created you to be. He always finishes the work that He starts. He will never leave your side. Let Him lead you through this season…to the place that He has for you. Prayer Heavenly Father, thank you for the work that you are doing in me right now. Thank you for reminding me that even when I can’t see it, you are always working. You are always preparing me for the things that you have for me. Thank you for taking care of me. Thank you for taking my hand, and leading me to the place that you have for me. I believe that even now, you are healing my heart, and renewing my mind. I pray that you would remove anything in me that is not in your will, and that you would give me the desires of my heart. I trust in you, because I know that you will never leave my side. I love you Father. In Jesus’ name, amen. Reference Graves, Kevin. “The Plumb Line Cornerstone.” Cscc.org,26 June 2020, https://www.cscc.org.sg/pastors-blog/a-plumb-line-cornerstone/