"At First"

At first it seemed like nothing,

But I was soon to learn,

That God is in the details,

Of every twist and turn.

And though our choices matter,

Like seeds that we have sown,

Consequence is harvest,

And that we have to own,

But things don’t run on karma,

Or some generic kind of fate,

But God Himself is moving,

Works through it to create,

What He sees that we cannot,

As if already done,

Surprises with a miracle,

To glorify the Son.

The large will start out smaller,

Than we can even see,

Like the very tiny mustard seed,

That moves a mountain easily.

Or the very small assignment,

That through faithfulness will grow,

Into something quite impactful,

And bigger than you know.

The last shall then go first He said,

The first will then be last,

The one who serves is greatest,

God lifts up those downcast.

And all I said was come and see,

To a stranger I just met,

And he became a trusted friend,

The kind you rarely get.

And though odds were against him,

He rose to pray and lead,

And then became a pastor,

The flock of God to feed.

God blessed him with a soul mate,

Who loved him from the heart,

Lived humbly as God blessed him,

As he did right from the start.

And then the Good Lord called him,

To heaven’s golden shore,

And all of us who loved him,

Wished that we could have more,

Time just to be with him,

But really it’s okay,

‘Cause God knows what He’s doing,

When He calls His child away.

I say this to remind us,

That in God’s economy,

Sometimes what seems the smallest,

Will be large eternally.

God’s Spirit still is moving,

In the details you will find,

The plan of God’s own choosing,

And none are left behind.

“The greatest among you will be your servant…” (Matthew 23:11, NIV)

With God, serving is what makes us great. With God, the last shall be first and the first last. With God, faithfulness in small things produces reliability in larger things. With God, mustard seeds of faith move mountains of evil. God moves in the details to produce eternal fruit. He blesses small choices to produce eternal miracles. God uses the unlikely to do the impossible. At first we don’t see or understand it. But if we continue to follow Jesus all these things will become obvious.

Lord, help us to see You in the small things, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Andy Mast, used by permission. Thanks, Andy, and God bless you.