Little Task; Big Task
Obedience in the Little Tasks
It is an exciting time for Leola right now. She is coming into the work God gave her many years ago. She is staring out the window from her Jesus chair remembering all the work she has done to prepare for this day yet knowing it still isn’t enough to prepare her for the future. She still knows there is a long way to go. God has had her do works she had no idea would prepare her for today. She created Strategic Life Skills Workshops she has never taught, under His direction. She has written newsletters never seen before by the public. She has gone places and done many things under His orders. She has also disobeyed God in many instances because she didn’t think what He was asking her to do was appropriate for her direction. As she thinks about her disobedience she wonders what she had not learned the easy way because she chose to disobey. She understands today obedience is not about understanding it is about doing.
Leola is thinking about boundaries again because they tie in with obedience. She knows from experience if boundaries do not surround her goals the goals they will never be met. How often do people set goals and never attain them because they neglect to include boundaries with their goals? Each goal is set with the expectation it will be reached but they never are because the way is not prepared. When God told Leola she would speak in public her first reaction was to join Toastmasters to practice speaking. There she learned how to write a speech and speak properly, use appropriate language and props, and how to dress. She posted videos on YouTube to practice teaching the Bible. Each time she did what God required she got more adept at doing His will and more prepared for His big task. She always wondered when the time would come when everything He told her would come into fruition. She never stopped doing what He told her to do because each little task was the preparation work for the big task.
Obedience and preparation go hand in hand with God. Those who wait on the Lord are not sitting on the couch watching television they are preparing themselves for the big task the Lord will ask them to do. Each person the Lord called He also prepared with information about the future. Moses was told He would lead God’s people to the Promised Land. Gideon knew He was going to free God’s people. Paul knew He was going to bring the Gentiles the Gospel. If you know one character in the Bible that was perplexed about His duties please let me know because I haven’t found him or her yet. Even Jesus knew He would die and why. Each Bible character had boundaries set up to make sure they went in the direction God told them to go, not going to the right or to the left but straight ahead. When God tells you His goal (the big task) for you, you can do nothing but get prepared for it. It is about the work we do to learn, the work we do to practice and the work we do to become an expert at what God is calling us to do.
Getting Prepared for the Big Task
The big task is what Leola is super excited about. All the little tasks are sometimes boring and time consuming however each one of them has to be done to get prepared for the big task. Leola eventually got to the place in her walk with God of complete obedience so she will eventually get to the big task. She wants to be prepared for it lest she be of no effect to the women she is serving. It is about God but more so about His children. She is here to serve God in a specific capacity for His children. She has learned she is serving His women to serve Him but she wants to serve the women He wants her to serve. To do that she needs to know who He wants her to serve and in what capacity. Serving His women means she needs to be prepared to deal with what they bring. Are they disobeying Him? She can serve. Are they guilty of sin? She can serve. Are they ignorant of God’s message? She can serve because she has been there and done that. Do they ignore Him? She can serve. She has gone from serving self to serving God to serving women. His great teachings have prepared her to serve Him and His women at the same time. Her obedience in the little tasks over the last 15 years has prepared her to serve His women in her big task. Bring it on!
Perhaps, you do not know what God has prepared for you. Perhaps, He has removed your memory as a result of your disobedience to Him (Matthew 13:12, 25:29; Mark 4:25; Luke 19:26). If God has removed your memory of the big task, implore Him to remind you again, and set your heart to preparing for it. Learn how to set boundaries around the goal He has for you. This is my job in the body of Christ. I am here to help you prepare for the big task God has laid upon your heart but if you do not know it you cannot prepare for it. I am currently writing about creating boundaries as the first book in a series about Leola and Veronica’s business named Crown for Life. Expect “The White Picket Fence” in the fall to help you with setting and defending boundaries to get to your goals. We are all here for a reason and that reason is to serve God and… No one is here to serve God alone but to serve His people as well. Jesus said when we serve people we serve Him (Matthew 25:31-46). Even when you are prepared and in the big task God prepares you for another big task. You will spend your life becoming prepared from one task to another. Don’t get tired from doing the small tasks. Be the wise servant who can be trusted with little so when much comes Jesus knows you are prepared to be trusted with it.
Meditation Verses: Matthew 13:12, 25:29; Mark 4:25; Luke 19:26; Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 16
