Small Tasks, Big Impact

Last night before I went to sleep I had another idea after reading my daily dose of my 90 days Bible reading and jotted down the phrase Small Tasks, Big Impact. I totally forgot about it until today when I came across a post on Lysa TerKeurst’s site where she’s offering the chance to get published. I could not think of one thing to write on until I remembered my jotted note. So here’s what I came up with.

Since January 2 of this year, I have been involved in an online group whose goal is to read the entire Bible straight-through in 90 days. Call me crazy, but we’re a few weeks in and it’s really not as hard as it sounds. It’s nice to have a good inch of Bible in my left hand now and only three in my right instead of four inches of Bible to read. It still seems daunting but taken in small doses, it’s been amazingly easy.

I say all that to say that this week I finished up Deuteronomy and started Joshua. That’s right where Moses dies and Joshua begins to lead the Israelites into the promised land. As we literally closed the chapter on Moses, I began to think about how awesome his life was and how I wonder and hope that I get to meet him in Heaven one day.

Then I began to think over all the things he had done and wondering if I could ever come close to having such an impact and then it hit me. A lot of what Moses did were very small tasks. The plagues against Egypt? He just told Pharaoh to let the people go or else. Turning a rod into a snake? He just threw it on the ground. The Red Sea? He just held up his staff and stood there. Delivering the ten commandments? He just climbed up a mountain and watched God write it. Directing the people out of Egypt? He just relayed what God told him. They sound so easy when you boil it down to what Moses actually had to do but these are all part of the most amazing events in history. So what made them so special? Not the task and not Moses. These were small tasks with big impact. God used Moses each and every time to complete a very small task so that God could show his power and glory with a big impact. God never asked Moses to part the Red Sea. All he asked him to do was hold his staff up and stand there. But think about the impact of that.

I think when we think of doing big things for God we think we’re going to be expected to do big tasks with big impact. After reading the history of Moses, I’m seeing that’s not how God works at all. He’s got the big stuff covered. He just wants us to do something small out of obedience and then watch Him do something glorious with it.