When You Feel Small

I was traveling along the shores of beautiful Lake Murray in Gilbert, South Carolina when my friend Kim, who was driving the pontoon boat, slowed down to point out her "favorite house on the whole lake."  I snapped out of my eyes-closed-nose-to-the-wind puppy dog posture at the front of the boat to take notice of the house to which she was pointing.

I expected a mansion, or at the very least a gorgeous house. The shores of Lake Murray showcase some of the most beautiful architecture and landscaping in our area. Already we had sailed past  huge three-story columned homes graced with palmetto trees, plantation-style houses with beautifully manicured lawns and flowering Crepe Myrtles, and ultra-modern homes with large windows gazing out over the water.

The home my friend pointed out, however, was quite different than what I expected. She directed my attention to a home that I at first assumed was a boat house.  It was wedged in between two palatial homes, situated on a tiny triangle of green between its ostentatious neighbors.  The house was a perfect square, perhaps even smaller than my house at home. 

Upon closer examination, it was lovely. A shiny copper roof sat atop a simple brick exterior.  Flowers and a stone path wound down to the water, and a fancy front door smiled from its face like a grinning Cheshire cat.  From a wrought iron signpost swung a sign that said, in very big letters,

SMALL 

While I assumed that Small was the name of the little house's owners, I couldn't help smiling at its audacity. To me, that little house was making a statement to all its neighbors. It was saying, "I am what I am, and I'm OK with that.  I am not trying to be something that I am not.  I am not wishing I was different.  I am celebrating what I am with no regrets."

We can learn a lesson from this small house.  Sometimes we look at the people around us and compare ourselves.  We see someone with gifts or talents we don't have, and we feel inadequate.  We come up woefully short when we compare our appearance, our income, or even our children with others'. We become dissatisfied, insecure, and downright grumpy. Worse, we dismiss ourselves from ministry or service because we assume God would rather use someone "better qualified" or "more gifted."

Moses was a man who compared himself to his brother Aaron and came up lacking.  When God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, Moses argued with God, reminding Him that he stuttered, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent -- either in the past or recently. . . I am slow and hesitant in speech."  (Ex. 4:10) Surely, he reasoned aloud, You would rather use my more eloquent brother. . . ?

I love God's response to Moses, because it is God's response to you and me as well:

"Who made the human mouth?  Who makes him mute or deaf, seeing or blind? (rich or poor, beautiful or average, confident or shy?)  Is it not I, the LORD?  Now go!  I will help you. . ." (Ex. 4:11-12).  We know that after a hesitant start and a little help from his brother, Moses went on to be one of the mighty deliverers in Israel's history not because he was eloquent, or gifted, or handsome, but because he was willing.

Are you tempted to look around and compare yourself with others?  Do you fail to serve the Lord because you feel there must be someone better qualified than you?  I challenge you to surrender to God like Moses did, allow Him to empower you and equip you, and watch and see what God does in and through your obedience.

 Like Moses and the SMALL house, let's be BIG for God!

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