Speaker 1: 0:06

Welcome to Made for Good, the podcast where we explore how to live out our purpose and give works out of our good control.

Speaker 2: 0:12

Hey, I'm Josh and I'm Mark. Today we're talking about the power of little things, how small acts of kindness and service can have a lasting impact. Throughout scripture, we see that God often uses the smallest gestures to bring about great outcomes. So, josh, let me ask you do you think that these little things can actually make a big difference?

Speaker 1: 0:35

I do. I think that what happens is we often underestimate small actions because they don't seem significant in the moment. But because of God's power, even the smallest things can change lives. Things like I don't know, a kind word, helping hands, even a prayer, can have a ripple effect far beyond what we can even imagine.

Speaker 2: 0:54

I agree. I think that that's exactly it. That's why Luke 16, 10 is such an important verse for this discussion. This small things and then larger things. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. He that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. So what we're really saying is how we act in these small things. Our attitude, our execution may reflect how we would act in the big things that God is calling us to do. So being faithful in the small things in a way prepares us for these greater opportunities. Today, we'll look at how little actions, done with the right heart, can have a powerful impact.

Speaker 1: 1:42

Which is a great transition right into our Bible basis segment. We'd like to talk about where the Bible's filled with these examples of how God used small things for great purposes. So what I would like to do is I would like to say something that for some may seem small, but, mark, I want you to expand upon it and talk about how it actually was great. Like the first example, david, david took a small stone and he defeated Goliath.

Speaker 2: 2:08

Yeah. So that small stone. Not only did it lead that day to the victory between Israel and the Philistines, but it really set David on a path to being the king that God wanted him to be for Israel. And how was that? David walked down into the Valley of Elah with those five smooth stones. He only needed one. Why? How was he able to do it? He trusted God. So that small stone began a ripple effect of winning the battle, inspiring his other fellow soldiers and ultimately leading, putting him on a path to being the king of Israel.

Speaker 1: 2:55

Another example of something small that had a great purpose is Rahab. She put out a small scarlet cord and what?

Speaker 2: 3:01

happened, so that cord identified her, and when the Israelites came in to destroy the city, they spared her. So she saved her life, and not only hers, her entire family, and so we don't have these details in scripture. But if you think about Rahab's life after being conquered, she now lived among God's people, and so we'd like to think that maybe she began to serve their God, jehovah, the same God that we serve.

Speaker 1: 3:34

I know this seems like how could you say Jesus did something small for a great impact, but what he said was significant when he talked about a small mustard seed. What about that?

Speaker 2: 3:43

Well, he said that small mustard seed he's talking about our faith can actually move mountains in Matthew 17, 20.

Speaker 1: 3:51

And then we know, with the help of Aaron and Joshua holding up Moses' hands, well, he led the Israelites to victory. And then we've talked about this in I don't know if this last episode or a couple episodes ago the widow she gave 100%. What's significant about that?

Speaker 2: 4:06

Well, you know I don't know when that when that widow left her home to go to the temple to make her contribution or sacrifice, did she have in her mind that day that, you know, my example is going to be witnessed by our Lord and Savior. Not only just witnessed. Witnessed by our Lord and Savior, not only just witnessed. He's actually going to turn that small event into a huge learning opportunity, not just for the disciples that were there and present with Jesus that day, but it's the 21st century. We're talking about that today.

Speaker 2: 4:39

Did she think that that little act that she was going to do and it was a little to her? Maybe think that that little act that she was going to do and it was a little to her? Maybe because it was 100%, as you said. But did she think that her contribution that day was going to lead to all these other conversations and all this other teaching about trust? She trusted God. She had to have trusted God in order to give him 100% of what she had. To me, these examples show that, really, god doesn't measure the impact the way we do. His ways are not our ways. Right. He sees the faithfulness and the trust, not the size of the act or the size of the gift. Even the smallest act of obedience can really set the stage for something much bigger.

Speaker 1: 5:28

So what we're saying is small acts of kindness and faith matter. They're not wasted. They're just seeds being planted for something greater, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 5:37

One of the most, one of the simplest and yet most powerful ways to make a difference in someone's life, and it doesn't cost a lot of money. It doesn't require a lot of research or commitment or really even skill, and that is encouragement. We've talked about this before, particularly in the context of Onesiphorus and Barnabas and how they encouraged first century Christians. Romans 15, 1 and 2 tells us this we who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. And here it is Let each of us please our neighbor for his good, to build him up. So encouragement really doesn't require these special skills or training. The bottom line is, what we're saying is everyone can be an encourager and everyone should be an encourager.

Speaker 1: 6:37

That's right, and any small act of encouragement can make a huge difference. Some of the easy ways to encourage folks are maybe just words about what you say, offering words of affirmation.

Speaker 2: 6:49

So how would words of affirmation be turned into something significant? So we talked about an example earlier where if someone is a young man is going to serve in the worship service, maybe for the first time, maybe they're reading, they're doing the scripture reading and after they're done, we can, we could go up to them and say listen, I really appreciate, it was obvious, you prepared, you had read the verse. I always think it's better to give specific affirmation rather than general Say hey, good job, thumbs up, and there's nothing wrong with that, of course. But if you really want to make an impact, you could say things like yeah, it was obvious to me that you you prepared and I appreciate that.

Speaker 2: 7:45

You know you, you read through the, you know the scripture very well. You'd obviously read through it a few times before and it's encouraging to me to see such a young person, you know, taking a leadership role. And what are we doing right there? We're putting, we're planting a seed in that individual's mind that they 16, 17, 18, 20 years old, whatever can be a leader in the church in the future. So you can take that small little word of affirmation could be the building blocks by which that person might become a Bible class teacher, a song leader, maybe even a preacher, or even an elder, a leader in the congregation.

Speaker 1: 8:31

You know, in helping out with your words don't just have to happen face to face, it can happen through text too.

Speaker 2: 8:38

Oh, we're using technology here.

Speaker 1: 8:40

Listen, I'm going to tell you this has been several months ago. I was having a crummy day, I was just really discouraged, just feeling down and I got a random text. Actually, it wasn't random, it was random to you. It was random to me because I wasn't, somebody was intentional. I wasn't expecting it, yeah, and I don't even think that they knew that I was down. They could have known, and yet the text messages was super encouraging and letting me know that they appreciate what.

Speaker 2: 9:06

I do yeah, that's fantastic. And what did it do? What was the impact of the rest of your day.

Speaker 1: 9:16

Well, first of all, it flipped how I was feeling, because I actually felt I was just thankful that I got that text message. So I went from being down to like wow, god, thank you, and I prayed for the guy that texted me.

Speaker 2: 9:24

Okay. So let's look at this. This guy sends you a text, words of affirmation, words that are meant to appreciate what you do in God's kingdom, and you turn around I'm sure you thanked him, but you then pray to God to thank God for what just happened. Do you know, when you're thanking God, in a way, you are glorifying God. We talked earlier about your.

Speaker 2: 9:57

Your financial contribution was a way to glorify God because it produced, in the recipient, thanksgiving to God, and so it's really an interesting end effect of something again very small, that sending a text wound up causing glory to God because of the thanksgiving that when I bet you in his mind, he was thankful to God. Maybe he had prayed and given thanks for you and maybe in that process of thinking about you go, you know what? I need to send him a text and I need to tell him that I need to, I need to take action. So he, you know, he sent you the text. Then you turned around, thanked him. The bond between the two of you stronger there it's. It's very intimate, one-on-one conversation where you're really appreciating your brother, and then you turn around and you pray to God and you give thanks to God for that. In all of that glory was given to God, and I think that that is a way that such a small thing can have such a large impact in the overall sense of things. Exactly.

Speaker 1: 11:11

That small text message caused someone who was discouraged to be thankful, so it had an impact. Yeah, another thing that we can do is just taking time to listen. There's been times where, I'm going to be honest, I was in a hurry to get somewhere and maybe that I was trying to chase a kid maybe one of the Hudson boys that shouldn't be doing something that they were doing and I see someone walking out and their posture's a little bit down and I just say, because that's just what we say, hey, how are you doing? And they give me I'm okay and I know they're not okay. What I should do is stop what I'm doing and make time to listen.

Speaker 2: 11:47

Yeah, and you never know how. Walking out of that building, some people live by themselves. Walking out of that building, Some people live by themselves. They go home, they're down. What you really did in that process? That might have led to more of a spiral. That might have led to a spiral to sin, a spiral to more depression, away from people who should be caring about them.

Speaker 2: 12:15

You interrupted that process, stopping them, seeing them and asking them how they're doing, and you didn't go. You know when they said fine, you didn't like keep going. You recognize that the body language, the tone, let you know that there's something else going on there. And by hey, tell me about it. And then just being quiet. And if they will, if you've got a relationship with a person where they know and can trust that you care about them maybe it's something that needs to be shared in confidentiality, I don't know, but if they trust you, they will, they'll open up and I'm here. Maybe it's, maybe that's not the right time. Look, I'll give you a call when I get home and we can talk. And by we can talk means I'll listen while you talk, that's right. I want to hear where you are, what you're going through. And again, you're interrupting a cycle and you could turn them. You're changing the trajectory of their not only their day, but maybe their spiritual life as well.

Speaker 1: 13:23

It's an interesting concept to think, though, that you can encourage someone just by listening. Yeah, I had a conversation once with someone in Tennessee and I walked away and I thought that was the best conversation. I felt so much better. You know what the other person did.

Speaker 2: 13:38

Nothing.

Speaker 1: 13:38

Nothing, they just listened and I realized that after the fact. But there is, you can encourage someone by showing you care, just by listening.

Speaker 2: 13:46

And we're communicating. When we look at someone and we're looking them in the eye, we're nodding, where maybe we're smiling or maybe we're reflecting the concern that they have. That's what's going on. So there's communication not maybe nonverbal, but there's communication going there, and I think that that can be very effective and very powerful.

Speaker 1: 14:07

Another small thing that you could do to encourage someone that can really make a huge difference is showing up for them in difficult times. This can happen in a number of ways and, just to give a personal example, a handful of months ago my grandfather passed away. This was in another state. I was one of the men who did the eulogy. That was, as you can imagine, a very heavy day for me and my family. And then we live in Alabama and so obviously Alabama, georgia, two different states. It was a little bit of a drive approximately 19-ish people I say approximately, it was 19 people that showed up to the funeral and they may have thought you included. You may have thought well, I just got to be there for Josh and for me it meant a lot, like it really encouraged me on a day where I was just down and sad that I had people that cared and loved me that showed up.

Speaker 2: 15:06

Well, what we saw as one of those 19 people, we saw a family that loved each other and loved the Lord, and the impact that we went away with is you know what a way to celebrate a life and obedience to God, and you know where that person is spending eternity with the Lord. And so the small thing maybe for us to get in the car and drive there to the funeral you're saying had a really big impact on you. I think it had a really big impact on those 19 people as well.

Speaker 1: 15:46

It is interesting, when you have the moment, a time where you're going to capitalize it, you're going to try to encourage someone. How, like you just said, how you got encouraged. So many times I've thought I need to go say something to that person. I know that they're down. And then I walk away, and then I'm the one who feels better.

Speaker 2: 16:01

It's weird how that happens, right.

Speaker 1: 16:02

Yeah, exactly. Another thing that you can do that seems small but could make a huge difference is and this is similar to something we said before it's just expressing appreciation for someone's efforts, like you talked about someone doing prayer. The only thing I would add on to that is, when you see it and you feel it, go do it. Because a lot of times you'll think, well, I'll just write a card to someone or you know what, I'll say something to someone, and then you get busy and you're talking to other people and then you leave and you're like, well, it would be weird for me to say something now because the moment has passed. So when you, when you see an opportunity to encourage someone, when we think back to the episode, we're talking about Jesus. When Jesus felt compassion, it led to action. We feel that emotion too. So when you, when you see it, go do it.

Speaker 2: 16:45

Yeah. So a note or a text or just saying I appreciate you, just taking that time to say I appreciate you, it can really change someone's day or week or month, or even the trajectory of their spiritual life. And that's God taking the small thing that that we're able to do and using it for his purpose.

Speaker 1: 17:14

The reality check segment is why don't we do more? And it's probably because we don't see how God's going to use that little, small act to help others.

Speaker 2: 17:23

Yeah, we can't see how God can use this small act to actually bless someone else and so, again, we think it really doesn't matter. And what we need to? We need to not limit God's Power in God's ability. That small grain of mustard seed that we've talked about earlier, we need to plant that. We need to let God give the increase Right. We need to look for the opportunities that are out there to do the small things, opportunities that are out there to do the small things. And when you look at it in totality of our life, maybe we'll be like Dorcas, where she was full of good works and acts of charity.

Speaker 2: 18:13

The truth is that these small things do matter. Proverbs 3. 27,. I think we've talked about this before in a previous episode. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to do it. In this case, was it a good thing? I mean, was it a big thing? It's well within our power. Maybe it's not even a heavy lift for us, but it can be very impactful for someone else, but it can be very impactful for someone else. We need to recognize that these small acts of kindness, whether it's a kind word or an act of service. They're valuable and we need to start looking for ways to incorporate these in our daily lives.

Speaker 1: 18:59

Okay, it's time for your mission. We've kind of slowly built up to this moment. We've had six episodes. Now we're on number seven and today we're going to share with you that you got a five-day sprint. So there is something for you to do, listener Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and we'll start with Monday. What we want you to do on Monday is we want you to smile and greet someone you don't normally speak to.

Speaker 1: 19:25

That doesn't seem like a big thing to me, but it's a small thing, right, we've been talking about small things and how they have great impacts, right, okay, all right. Tuesday, send a small gift or encouraging note to someone.

Speaker 2: 19:37

Okay, so that could be a text. You could jump on Amazon and find a little $10 gift. You can do a search for gifts under $10 and just deliver it, and you can have it delivered anonymous. That's right, again, if you know their address. Yeah, you could easily do that. Again, I think this is a little thing. I don't think this is big, but you never know how it will be received and what the condition of the person's mind is when they receive it Right Wednesday compliment a stranger or leave an uplifting message, or like put a post-it note on somebody's car Like you did a horrible job of parking.

Speaker 2: 20:16

Can you even see those parallel?

Speaker 1: 20:18

lines. No, that's not what we're talking about Okay. All right.

Speaker 2: 20:26

Thursday donate something useful we've talked about this before like clothes. You're saying that's not uplifting. It was, it was corrective, but it's not uplifting. Should we say what a great job of parking there you go okay uh, so on thursday all right, sorry.

Speaker 1: 20:37

Yeah, thursday, donate something useful like clothes, books or supplies, and then, lastly, on Friday, what we want you to do is offer to help someone with a task or an errand. What does that look like?

Speaker 2: 20:48

So you know it could be somebody who is sick and they're like hey, I know you're not feeling well today. I'm at the grocery store. I'm headed to the grocery store. Can I pick you up anything? I'm already out Again. I'm headed to the grocery store. Can I pick you up anything? I'm already out Again. You're trying to show them that again. This is a little thing for me, it's not a big deal. I'm not imposing, you're not imposing on me to ask me to pick up some milk and a loaf of bread. You know if it's going to snow or whatever the situation is where it requires you to have milk and bread. But you can. You can make it a small deal in their, in their mind, uh, but it will be very, very impactful for them as well. So just, I'm already at the store. Can I bring you something?

Speaker 1: 21:36

can I say this we we have talked about several times that we taught this class and there was someone in class that was a part of it, a part of this five-day sprint We've done this before and they sent something on Amazon. Later on that week they got home from work and they walked to their front door and they had a box from Amazon and they thought that I sent it to myself. That's exactly what they thought. And then they opened it up and they realized that someone sent something to them.

Speaker 2: 22:10

Wow, they were the recipient.

Speaker 1: 22:11

They were the recipient, they were the giver and the receiver. And so they came and tearfully said someone sent something to me, so we, and it was $10., it was $10. So I think that we've tried to emphasize the point that small things have great impacts and we saw that live from class.

Speaker 2: 22:30

That's fantastic. So that's the five-day sprint challenge. We've got items to do Monday through Friday small things. If you didn't write them down, go to X or go to Instagram or go to Facebook. We'll post those this week so you'll have them. You can refer back to them Monday through Friday small things, and you will never know ahead of time how you might impact someone. So that is the. That's the episode. That's episode seven. If this conversation today encouraged you, be sure to subscribe so that you won't miss the next one.

Speaker 1: 23:06

Well, we hope that you found this helpful. Consider sharing it with a friend. Until next time, remember the little things matter. You were made for this.