“By little and little I will..., until thou be increased, and inherit the land.”
Exodus 23:30
It’s sure a brisk, beautiful day on my porch. Hope yours is equally enjoyable. Thanks so much for joining me today! I hope you’ll be blessed by what I have to share today. And, as always, feel free to share with anyone who comes to mind while you’re here. We all need encouragement from time to time. Be someone who lifts others up! God bless you~
I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase “little by little, inch by inch” and possibly even sung or hummed the tune a time or two in our lifetime.
There are all kinds of scenarios we could conjure up to give examples of moments in time when we’ve grown weary of waiting on God to perform or move on our behalf. We each have been there in the past, are there now, or will be there in our future. It’s inevitable.
We’re all also aware of the fact that God isn’t on our timescale. After all, His Word says “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” Wow.
We’re all mostly knowledgeable to the fact that God is not silent to our prayers too. Sometimes His answer is “yes”, “no”, or simply “not yet, hold on.”
Since the death of our son and multiple relatives in the last four years, I’ve learned so much more about the process of a journey as we’ve worked through this thing called the grief journey. Trials of life have a way of opening our eyes to new concepts and understanding. Just as with grief, there are times when our quest for a miracle or answered prayer doesn’t happen in an instant. Rather, we have to learn the simple concept that we’re traveling a road or running a race...we just need to keep on walking and make it to the end!
So, while reading my Bible this morning, the phrase “by little and little” seemed to jump off the page and grab my attention like a vice grip and it was as if the Lord was saying, “Steffanie, it’s little by little! I’m doing it, learn of me.”
I’m convinced that along the way or in the waiting, that God is doing what only He does best — working it for our good. Along the way to our answered prayers and miracles, He is teaching us to rely upon and trust in Him. He is teaching us His truths and concepts. He is making us stronger and growing us up in Him. That’s the absolute beauty of every journey If we’ll allow it and stick with it.
There’s an old song We’ll Understand it Better By and By, which speaks about us telling the story of how we’ve overcome, for we’ll understand it better by and by. My friend, we might not understand it here and we might want it now, but sometimes God wants to take us to “there” by little and little.
It’s the little blessings here and there, the little nuggets of truth we pick up here and there, the little changes in our heart and spirit, the concepts we understand a little better because of the wait which makes the journey so “worth it.”
“God IS up to something, with every inch by inch”
It seems like this theme is popping up in my world more and more often. Sometimes God chooses to lead us through the wilderness for our own good. The journey and results belong to the Lord, our part is to just keep on walking. Keep trusting. Keep blooming.
There are blessings along this path which we’ll never partake of on another. By little and little!
No matter where you are today, be encouraged that God is on the throne, He is well able to give you even this mountain, and you will receive your answer. Maybe not in this next minute, hour or day; but in His time. In the meantime, strive to enjoy the journey and run this race with patience.
Celebrate the little victories and blessings along every inch of the journey.