We’re into it now. 2021 is officially underway. Notice any huge changes? Any monumental difference from all that was 2020? Any big shift? Has your personal life improved dramatically?
Maybe your answer to those questions is “yes.” For me, the answer is “no.” Things seem to be as they have been. My personal life continues much as it did. No noticeable shift from a couple of weeks ago. Same general patterns and habits. No drastic difference. On a larger scale, we are still dealing with the wide variety of implications stemming from COVID. Still dealing with a charged political atmosphere. Still dealing with life…with all of its challenges and disappointments (as well as all of the blessings and celebrations). Nope. For me, 2021 hasn’t started off to be a ton different than 2020. I haven’t noticed any big shift, any huge difference. The world did not instantly change the second that the ball fell and the confetti popped and the toasts were made and the kisses were given.
As much as we would like everything to get better with the snap of our fingers or in the blink of an eye, life doesn’t always work that way. More often, big change comes through small steps taken repeatedly, habitually.
I know. I know. You can argue, “What about when ____ happened?” “What about this instance?” “What about this example?”
Yes, sometimes big changes take place quickly, in an instant. Sometimes large shifts can happen at a moments notice. That is not out of the realm of possibilities; however, we cannot expect for that to be the norm. Instead, we need to allow for the possibility of change happening rapidly while working towards the change we seek through our smaller actions taken repeatedly.
No, moving from 2020 into 2021 did not instantly produce huge changes. Shifting from one year to the next rarely does. Instead, if we want to see change happen, if we want to see huge differences take place this year, we need to start with small decisions, with small steps, with little actions taken over and over again.
Let’s start with the personal issues. Want to see a big change in your personal life this year? Want to be in better shape? Want to eat healthier? Want to spend less time sitting on the couch? Want to have more friends? Want to have more money to spend on ice cream? Want to spend more time in prayer? Want to get closer to God? All of these things (and many more) require change to take place. Perhaps big change to take place. Though we can allow for the drastic, for the miraculous, for God to do something amazing, change doesn’t typically come in that manner, no matter how much we may want for it to. The “quick change” answers typically fail. Fast acting diets. Easy fix solutions. 10-minute-problem-solving strategies. Get rich quick schemes. These all usually come up short, or they may even produce an end result that is worse than the starting point. Quick fixes usually aren’t the answer for long, lasting changes. Instead we need something different. We need to take smaller steps and we need to take them repeatedly to find the large change that we seek.
Want to be in better physical shape? Start with something small. Maybe it’s a five-minute walk three times a week. Do that again and again and again. Then bump it up to a ten-minute walk three times a week. Do that again and again and again. Keep going. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Stick with it, make small increases, keep up the habit and the next thing you know you will be a daily walker, walking a half-hour plus per day and you will find yourself in better physical shape.
Want to eat healthier? Take small steps. Start by cutting out one thing. Maybe you can do without the Coco Sugar Bombs for breakfast. Or maybe you need to impart a “cookie limit.” Typically eat a box? How about half a box? Keep up this practice. Gradually add other things to the routine. Try out a vegetable. It might not kill you. Once again, if the small steps are taken repeatedly and consistently, before you know it the big change will happen. You will be eating healthier.
Want to have more ice cream money? Take small steps. Look at your expenditures. Find one thing that could be pared back. Perhaps you don’t need to eat vegetables with every meal. Save a couple of bucks by skipping the broccoli for lunch. Put that dough towards your ice cream fund. Take small steps. Do this over and over and over. The next thing you know…you’ll be having Ben and Jerry’s every night. (Not an advisable life-plan/goal, but hey…its an example.)
Want to get closer to God?
Want to be more connected to Jesus in your prayer life?
Want to be more sensitive to the movement of the Holy Spirit?
Want to be more faithful in your finances and with your giving?
Want to know the Bible?
Guess what…small steps. Take them repeatedly. Gradually increase as you grow, as the habit is built, as the steps have been taken. Small steps, taken repeatedly will lead to big change.
Large changes in life can be overwhelming. We can look at them as a giant obstacle that we will never overcome. “Read through the Bible? The whole Bible? Seriously? How could I ever do that?” Well, if you break it down into small steps, it is much less difficult. Buy a five-year Bible or a three-year Bible or a one-year Bible (depending on how much time you can set aside easily in your daily routine). Read the selected passages each day. Consistently. Repeatedly. Stick with it. The next thing you know…you’ll have read through the whole thing.
“A prayer warrior? How could I ever become a prayer warrior? I can’t even spend five minutes in prayer?” Small steps. Take them repeatedly. Write a reminder. Set a timer. Dedicate three minutes before breakfast each day when you will pray for others. Do that. Repeatedly. Consistently. Next thing you know you’ll be praying for folks and increasing your prayer time. Big change through small actions.
On and on and on and on this can go. If we truly want big changes to take place in our lives, we need to set out on small, feasible steps, and take them repeatedly. Consistently. Until they are habit forming. After doing this for some time, you’ll be able to look back and be amazed at where you are compared to where you were.
Psalm 119:105 says this:
“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
Sometimes, I fear that we picture this light as like a high-powered flood light, like the kind used at a baseball stadium only brighter. We picture God illuminating the whole path, giving us the big picture, and then we wish that we could just skip the path all together. “I just want to be there, God. I just want to get to that goal. I just want to see that change. I just want to be there!” We hear this verse and we picture and desire the whole path being lit up, for us to get an idea of the large path of our lives, of the big changes, the big things. But that is not the image that the Psalmist had in mind. Instead, the light is more of a candle-lit lantern, illuminating each small step that is taken. Each next step is lit and illumined by the Word of God.
In picturing this verse incorrectly, we also run the risk of picturing how we would get to each spot along the path incorrectly. We picture a big change in the future, and we want to jump right to it, skipping all of the small steps that we need to take. Instead, God wants to take us to the big change, the big goal, the large shifts by allowing us to trust him with one small step at a time. God wants to show us each step we are to take as we climb the mountain. He wants to show us each step we are to take as we reach the pinnacle. God even wants to show us each step we are to take as we trudge through the valleys and the plateaus. Each step, each small step, leading us on towards the next change, towards the next success, towards the next way that our lives can be more like the life of Jesus.
Big changes through small steps.
This principle is true in our personal lives, and it is true in our connected lives within our community as well.
Want to see big changes in the political climate? How about starting with our own actions, with our own social media postings, with our own speech regarding how we address those with differing views? How about spending some time in prayer about the issue? Pray for those in leadership (a Biblical mandate, 1 Timothy 2:2). Pray for those who are being insensitive and crass. Pray, even, for the journalists and the reporters and the people who are making money off of stories that sell. Pray. Pray. Pray. Why? Well, the political climate isn’t likely to change by itself, nor is it likely to change rapidly. It isn’t likely to be fixed with one official or one action. Instead, it will need a bunch of changes, a bunch of actions, a bunch of small movements in the right direction. Does the political climate bother you? Make some small steps toward change. Do your part. Trust God. Pray. That’s the surest way to get closer to the big shifts that are necessary.
How about changes regarding COVID and all things related? Does the same principle apply? Yes, I believe that it does. Granted, COVID is a little trickier as a lot of what happens and what is mandated falls outside of our control or influence. Most of us have limited abilities to have completely informed conversations about vaccines and herd immunity and what it will take to get the world back to “normal” once again, let alone make any sweeping changes regarding these things. Most of us are not in control over who gets sick and with what severity and with what health implications. Most of us aren’t in control over who gets laid off and when and for what reasons. There is a lot about COVID that is well outside of our abilities or control. Still, even in this arena, if we want to see change, if we want to see a difference, we can do our part to help bring the change that we yearn to see. We can take small steps that lead towards the goal that we wish to achieve. How? First, let’s be prayerful about our own actions. Let’s seek God and God’s wisdom about those things that we do and do not do and the reasons behind them. Let’s ask God to direct our path, particularly in light of COVID, and let’s trust God to lead us. Small step. Could produce big results. Second, let’s pray. Pray for those who are making the decisions. Pray for those who are fighting on the frontlines of the disease. Pray for those who have lost their jobs and are struggling financially (maybe if we know someone who is in this position we can take it even a small step further…cook a meal, send a gift card, pay an electric bill…something). These are all little, feasible steps that we can take. If we take these steps together? Larger change can take place.
We’ve entered into 2021. God is able. God is able to take a problem and change it. Just like that. In an instant. God is also able to take the problem and lead a person one step at a time towards change. God is able to take the spiritually weak and make them spiritually strong. Just like that. In an instant. God is also able to take the spiritually weak and lead them step by step along a path that leads to strength in Christ. In all things, God is able. God is able to do the miraculous in moving us towards our goals. God is also able to light our paths in getting us there. Do not forsake the small steps of faithfulness just because they are not as glamorous or exciting. Be faithful each step of the way. Little by little, bit by bit, step by step you will see the movement of God and big changes will happen within your life.
~ Pastor Chris
