Doing Small Things for a Bigger Purpose

"Who despises the day of small things?" Zechariah 4:10

 My devotional readin today is from Today God is First by Os Hillman, titled Small Things.

By end of this month, it will be exactly 4 years from the day (31 July 2011) I left the corporate world. The decision to stay home to take care of the family was not any easy one and those days out of the marketplace was not easy too. I was so used to getting so much done in the marketplace being a manager. Although there is a fare share of problems and challenges, running huge projects with a big team of engineers motivates me daily. Suddenly, I found myself managing the "small" daily family chores, preparing kids to school, getting the meals ready when the my wife and kids comes back the evening, spending most my time alone reading and trading for a living. The morale and self-esteem level dropped to below sea-level.

Four years working at home seems like forty years in the desert. However, reflecting back on my walk in the valleys and over the peaks in the pass four years, I saw a slightly bigger picture of what God had planned for me. Although I will not be able to see the whole picture, those experiences doing small things forms the bigger picture of what I have achieved so far.  Although they are still not perfect and the uncompleted part of the picture is still a mystery, it gave me the motivation to continue walking and doing the small things God asked me to do.

In the message by Os Hillman, he said:

 "Jesus grew up as a carpenter's son and learned the trade from His daily routine. For 30 years He worked. When it was time to beging to fulfill His purpose for mankind, He countless stories of people and their work...He related to the everyday man because He Himself was one. This is why it was important for Him to have some personal work experience.

Life is filled with daily routines.  Every now and then, God takes us to the mountaintop to experience His presence in a dramatic way. This is not a norm....Moses spent 40 years in preparation before he led the Israelites out of Egypt.  Paul spend a great deal of his life working toward the wrong purpose until a dramatic event changed his life."

God uses work to develop character qualities that He plans to use at the appropriate time. We may not know when and how, but putting us where we are now is part of that great plan. Continuing doing the small things in our daily routine develops our faith and trustworthiness with God.  Hillman ended his message: "The day-in and day-out grind of working life molds us and makes us into what God desires. God may be preparing you for something far greater.  For now, however, you are learning the daily lessons of small things".

Jesus said "Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade" Mark 4:30-32.

So, for those who felt the same way I did, don't be discourage for doing the small things daily leads us to His greater and bigger purpose.

11. Finding God's Purpose in the Financial Trading Marketplace 3 - Kingdom Building & Conclusion

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." ...Matthew 5:13-16  

We have discussed in my previous post Finding God's Purpose in the Financial Trading Marketplace - Kingdom Transformation, that God's main purpose in the financial trading marketplace is the extension of His Kingdom in the financial marketplace. God not only wanted to extend His Kingdom in the marketplace, but to all nation, reaching out to the corners of the earth to build His Kingdom. In order to do that, God's resources generated from the financial trading marketplace can be channeled into the other part for His great Kingdom Building plan. In the "Parable of the Bags of Gold" (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus shared about the three men who were each given a bag of gold (with different amount of gold in each case).  The bags of gold symbolize gift or talents God gave us so generously. Although the parable is telling us to invest the talents or gifts given to us for His kingdom, it is also saying whatever belongs to God, will be returned to our Master in Heaven. God has the plan to prosper you (Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans for you...to proper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."), however we need to be aware that God's plan is to serve His purpose, not ours on earth. and the profits from our investments should be returned to Him for His purpose.

 

So, are we doing enough with the gifts and talents God have given us in the marketplace? 

 

Different people is given different gift and there is one that most of us is able to do by God's grace, that is giving. For those who are blessed abundantly from the financial marketplace, you are given the gift to gain from the financial marketplace and the gift of giving to the needy. As stated by Paul in Romans 12:6 "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us,....if it is giving, then give generously,...". But rest assured, God will not give anyone of us the gift of giving if He does not give us the gift of making money. But the question is what are we doing with God's resources? Is His resources being used effectively for His purpose or for our earthly pleasure? 

 

Exodus 4:17 says "But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it". God have given each one of us a staff in our hand. In our context, it is the talent to gain from financial trading or investment. Moses miraculously turned the Nile into a river of blood, and parted the Red Sea with his staff by simply obeying God. It is only through yielding to God's command that He is able to do great things with the staff given to us. Have you given the staff for God's purpose in Kingdom Building? 

 

Matthew 5:13-16 says "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."  If God's purpose of creation (see previous post on Finding God's Purpose in Financial Trading Marketplace - Kingdom Transformation), is to bring everything He created under His Son, Jesus Christ, then we were tasked to be "Salt and Light" of Jesus. Do not hide your talent under the bowl where no want is able to see the light of Christ. See that the saltiness in you is able to bring flavor to those who need it. Otherwise, you are wasting your talent given by the grace of our Heavenly Father. Proverbs 3:9 says "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops". Honor God and give your wealth to the needy, for Kingdom building and be the salt and light of Jesus Christ. 

 

Matthew 5:13-16 apparently is also the objective of GiFT Ministry, which I hope those brothers and sisters in the trading marketplace who are also driven by the Spirit to serve the same purpose would join God at work in the financial trading marketplace. God is calling, are you willing to join Him!

 

Conclusion

God has commanded us to invest the resources and talents given to us and expected the resources plus the profits to be returned to Him for His purpose. The financial trading market allows us to do that in a fair environment without being controlled by individuals who are driven by greed. God does this for all those who loves Him. However, God did this, not only for us, but for His purpose, to bring His Kingdom onto earth. We are all commissioned to share the gospel to the corners of the earth, especially the marketplace where most of us spend majority of our time in. We are commissioned to make disciples and teach them to obey His Words so that the demons can be driven out of the marketplace. Finally, we are told to be "Salt & Light" of Christ by honoring God with the fruits we gained from financial trading and investment. Being the light of Christ by doing good deeds and allow all to see the glory of our Father in Heaven. These, I believed are God's purpose in the financial trading marketplace.