Little By Little


40 years is a long time to wait for something. I get impatient when it seems like it's taking too long for my food to come out in a restaurant. I was in Costco the other day, and when I got to the front all the lines were long. So I left. I don't like to wait.
For 40 years the Hebrew people had wandered around in circles in the wilderness waiting to enter the land God had promised to give to Abraham. Once it was finally time to go in I'm sure they were eager to move in quickly. The promise was that they would become a great nation. It was time. "Let's go!"
Instead God gives these words over them as they prepare to enter.
"Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land." Exodus 23:30.
Little by little? How about mucho by mucho? A little at a time was the plan though. They weren't ready yet for the fullness of what God had for them. For now they would need to keep following his leading and trusting his timing.
Our spiritual growth has a lot in common with their growth as a nation. As we follow Christ little by little we increase in stature, or at least we should be. Daily faithfulness may seem like it's not worth it, but you're increasing. Little by little you grow into who God created you to be.
We've all seen a child we hadn't seen in years. The change is always striking. We exclaim things like, "look at how tall you are!", and "look at how you've grown!" If you were with the child every day you were aware of the growth, but it was so gradual you were never startled by it. Yet, it was still happening. Little by little.
It's happening in each of our lives as well. You're bigger, stronger, and wiser than you used to be. And you haven't finished growing.

Following the Son,

James A Williams

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