The Little Things

The Little Things

Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.” 2 Kings 13:18-19, NIV

God may call us to do some big things in our lives, but being obedient to God in the little things He calls us to do on a day-to-day basis is critical. Too often we don’t see the importance of the little things because they seem so insignificant. Or sometimes we are not sure that we can pull them off, so we end up stopping short of where we know God wants us to go.

In almost every football game there are a couple of crucial downs that determine the outcome of the game. You just don’t know beforehand which ones they will be. Every play could be game changing. Doing the little things right is critical in those situations.

Third down and eight yards to go. The play call is for the wide receiver to go downfield ten yards and cut out toward the sideline to receive the pass that should already be in the air. The only problem is that the receiver is bumped by the defensive back coming off the line and can’t get through, so he cuts outside at eight yards, not ten, and the ball sails over his head for an incompletion or—worse—interception. All because of a two-yard difference between what was practiced and what the receiver actually ran.

The little things we fail to do or fail to see—and the result is less than we planned. The little things we fail to do can make us come up short of where we wanted to be. How many victories in our lives are we missing because we fail to do the little things or we pull up just a couple of yards short? How many victories in our lives are just around the next corner, but we stop walking and never get to that corner?

God has an assignment for your life—it is perfect, and it is filled with purpose. Run the play to the end. Don’t pull up short. Press through any obstacle that gets in your way.

Uncommon Key > God expects you to do the little things—not just the big things—in your life well. Think about what little thing you need to take care of today. Run the play all the way to the end.