Small goals, big reward
I recently added a workout to my daily exercise routine. It promised results in just seven days. It is intense, but it is only five minutes a day, and as the instructor calls out to remind me at the most difficult moment of the workout when I want to give up: “You can do anything for five minutes!”
It’s true. Small goals lead to big rewards. I’m already noticing a positive difference in my body. I feel better. And I am encouraged to keep at it. And I know it’s achievable, because we can do anything for five minutes, right? Especially when we know those five minutes will eventually get us to our bigger goal.
During Jesus’s earthly ministry, He spoke often of establishing the kingdom of God. But He had many critics, because He did not do all of the things common to building a kingdom that they were accustomed to. He did not arrive on the scene as a powerful warrior, followed by a mighty army, ready to conquer the Roman empire and set up His throne. In fact, He led a very humble life, and He taught subjection and suffering as part of this kingdom.
There would come a day when the kingdom would be established publicly on earth, and all nations would bow to Jesus, the King of kings (Psalm 72:11; Revelation 15:4). But His first and primary mission was to minister to broken people. He needed to address the sin that had led to the continued pain and difficulty so many were experiencing. He needed to point them to their Creator, who was doing a new thing. He was establishing His kingdom in the hearts of people who sought Him for the true freedom He came to bring:
“The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is, because the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).
The Lord Jesus’s presence among the people meant that the kingdom had already come. But many missed it because they were looking for something “bigger” or “better” than what they were seeing.
In one memorable parable, Jesus corrected their thinking:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches” (Matthew 13:31-32).
Hundreds of years earlier, Israel many times bemoaned their struggles to obtain and maintain their nation. They were crippled with enemies all around them and sin within. In the prophet Zechariah’s day, a small number of Israelites had returned to their homeland following a 70-year exile in Babylon. They set about restoring the devastated cities but often became overwhelmed and disappointed when the work was so great and they seemed to be getting nowhere.
God corrected their thinking as well:
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…” (Zechariah 4:10).
When Jesus came to earth, He did so with the purpose of setting into motion salvation of a lost humanity, and the new creation in which all things once broken by the curse would be restored. Some thought his work too small, and too weak. But just like the mustard seed, the kingdom was planted. It has been growing ever since, and it will grow greater than all other kingdoms this world has ever known.
We have limited perspective as humans. All of the knowledge and wisdom we can gain in this life will never be enough for us to see or control the future. We can’t stop death, and we can’t even assure ourselves that we will experience favor in this life. But we can do what God has given us to do. He has told us to find joy in the little blessings he has given us here, and even when we can’t see where it’s all leading, to keep doing the work He has given us to do.
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
God has shown us what He requires of us, and as we obey Him, He graciously guides every step.
“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21).
When you follow Him, day by day, you will be sustained by joy and driven by hope. For one day that road will lead to an eternal kingdom, where we will find complete rest.
What small thing is God leading you to do today? Do it with all your might. Even if you can’t see the results just yet. After all, five minutes is not so long if we know the reward that awaits.