REALSample

Small Acts of Big Faith

By Marcus Brecheen

In late eighteenth-century England, there was a man named William Carey who had a level of faith and selflessness that I aspire to. He and a group of men met regularly to pray, and they genuinely believed their prayers were connected to God’s work on earth. They were all stirred by the Gospel and its power to save. During one of these prayer meetings, they began talking about India and its need for the Gospel message. Each of the men had a burden, and Carey compared it to standing at the entrance of a cavernous mine that had never been explored. He stood up and said to the other men, “I will go down if you will hold the rope.”

In April 1793, Carey set sail for India, and today he is known as the father of modern missions having translated the Bible into 44 different languages. It all started in a small prayer group, and God shook a big nation.

Carey held up his end of the deal, and his friends did too—every day for the rest of their lives! Together by faith, they said “yes” to God’s invitation to India.

But what about those men back home? Do you think they ever considered praying for Carey to be too simple an act—inadequate compared to his work of actually going? I wonder if they ever had days when they felt useless. The truth is it can be easy to believe what we do has little or no impact on the world. Not only is this wrong thinking but also a lack of faith. It’s also the beginning of selfishness, which leads you down a path that says, “If my life doesn’t matter anyway, I may as well give up and get comfortable.” And so begins the plunge into doing whatever we want because we don’t think it will affect anyone. This is small thinking that views God as selfish, distant, and uncaring.

But what if our lives—our choices, prayers, worship, integrity, and willingness to live by faith—really do matter? Even if our lives seem small and our impact in God’s kingdom seems insignificant, we are connected to God’s big work on earth. We have a major role to play no matter how big or small. William Carey and his friends believed it. Only God knows the ruin that marks the earth today, and only God sees how the antidote will be administered. Whether it be through the simple act of prayer or altering your life to follow God’s call, He has an invitation for you today. All it requires is faith that the small thing we do connects to the big thing God is doing. What is God calling you to do today?

Prayer

God, give us faith today to make the connection between what You’re doing and what we do. You spoke life and earth into being, and You have set Your people on a great mission. Thank You for people throughout history who saw their lives—when connected to Yours—as worthy of offering as a living sacrifice. Give us grace to do so today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Memory Verse

"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends." John 15:12–13