Daily Bread: Turning overwhelm to peace

I met with a client this week. He is very unhappy with his life in general, but he is clinging to what looks impressive. He just doesn’t know it!! He has a very impressive business, a fantastic house, some amazing cars, and a very large investment portfolio. He is driven by quick progress, obvious success, and clear proof that things are working. He is so totally focused on what looks large and impressive that he totally misses the small things. This week I asked him, "How big is your faith?" He looked at me inquisitively and answered, "It looks to me like it is big, but what do you think? I am doing great things, but I am just never satisfied by it. When I reach a milestone, I reach out for the next one.” He is not alone! I have seen this story many times in the world we live in today.

Scripture tells us about a mustard seed. A mustard seed starts almost microscopically. But it grows into a very large plant. In Scripture, we are told that we are held back from wonderful things simply because our faith is like a mustard seed. There is another seed, too. A yeast seed. We put it in dough, and it works quietly through the dough until the whole batch is changed—it is much larger. That is how God in us works—small at first, hidden, slow and easy to overlook; but powerful.

Last weekend as we were leaving the field from the Minnesota State Baseball Tournament, I was about to get in my car and head back home to Iowa. My grandson Theo said, “Grampa, I am really going to miss you.” And I said, “Buddy, I will miss you too, but you are always in my heart. And someone I know is always with you, too. Do you know who that is?” He started going through the obvious—mom, dad, brother, sister. Then I asked, "Who else?" Theo replied, “Duh, yep. God is always with me. I know it because I feel it." He feels it.

Do we as adults still 'feel it' or are we numbed by the chaos around us?

The challenge in life is that we often cling to what looks impressive. We want it all to be home runs. We want to score big. We are so focused on the large things that we miss what God is doing in the small things. Scripture tells us to work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom. In other words, don’t just admire it from a distance. Respond with your heart, 'feel it', follow it and trust it. When we seek the kingdom first, the small seed of faith grows. It becomes rooted. It becomes powerful.

Taking those tiny steps of faith helps us release our obsession with impressive things and stops us from despising small beginnings. When we trust that God can act through a small act of faithfulness, a small prayer, a small invitation and a small step of obedience, it opens our heart, mind and soul to bigger and better things—eternal things. Because in God’s hands, small acts of trust turn our mustard seeds of faith into something much more beautiful than we ever thought was possible.

My client is actually crying out for help, he just doesn’t know it! Similarly, children often cry out things like, “It isn’t fair!" My earthly father's answer to that was, “Life isn’t fair, get over it.” Kendra Thomas, a professor of psychology wrote, "Every experience shapes a kid's worldview. In childhood, injustice comes with a sense of powerlessness; it is both outraging and demoralizing.” She said that children need adults in their lives to teach them how to cope with it. Perhaps they are handling a minor injustice, and they need a listening ear and some perspective. (Scientific American, March 18, 2024).

But it seems to me that a listening ear and perspective is not just for kids. When Job was going through trials, he and his friends often questioned whether justice was being served. Some of Job’s friends thought that he deserved punishment , but Job couldn’t understand why God let him suffer so greatly. However, the great points of the book of Job are that God will never do wicked things to you, He will never pervert justice, and He will never leave you or forsake you. No, he is always with you.

Whatever we may be going through right now—things that are not fair, not just, or MAYBE look great to the world but just don’t satisfy. If we just stay in faith, as time goes by, it is amazing how we can look back and see God’s hand of goodness and justice. You see, we can trust Him with the hard days. We can trust Him to be with us. We can trust Him to show us what is truly important. There is a wise saying, "When you cannot trace God’s hand, you can trust His heart."

A.W. Tozer said, ”Sometimes when we get overwhelmed, we forget how big God is.” I think my client has forgotten that. But I think my grandson knows it—I just need to listen and keep on giving him some perspective.