DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT FRIDAY - PAY ATTENTION TO THE SMALL THINGS.

It is better to have God’s approval, than the world’s applause: there is a time shortly coming when a smile from God's face will be infinitely better than all the applause of men: how sweet will that word be, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant.’ (Matt. 25: 21)." - Thomas Watson.

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? - Luke 12:25-26.

We should mind little things -- little courtesies in life, little matters of personal appearance, little extravagances, little minutes of wasted time, little details in our work. It seems that a thing cannot be too small to command our attention. The first hint Newton had, leading to his most important optical discoveries, was derived from a child's soap bubble.

The art of printing was suggested by a man cutting letters in the bark of a tree. The telescope was the outcome of a boy's amusement with two glasses in his father's shop. Goodyear neglected his skillet until it was red hot, and the accident guided him to the manufacture of vulcanized rubber -- little things, every one a little thing. Yet how important they proved to be to the man who had the wit to correlate these things with the idea in his head. – Source unknown.

I believe that God is speaking to Christians today, about paying close attention to details, small things. He is saying that we are neglecting the small things, and they have been destroying the great things in our life. For example...

THE SMALL IMPURITIES IN LIFE!
Paul said to the Corinthian Christians... Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? - 1 Cor 5:6. A small quantity yeast will saturate the entire mass of flour, or dough, and spread itself through it all. The idea here is that a single sin indulged in, or allowed in the church, would act like yeast, and it would saturate and corrupt the whole church, unless it was removed. A small impurity can destroy lives, if we do not deal with it.

Imagine all the obstacles a person might have to overcome if he were to walk from New York City to San Francisco. One man who accomplished this rare achievement mentioned a rather surprising difficulty when asked to tell of his biggest hurdle. He said that the toughest part of the trip wasn't traversing the steep slopes of the mountains or crossing hot, dry, barren stretches of desert. Instead, he said, "The thing that came the closest to defeating me was the sand in my shoes." - Our Daily Bread.

THE SMALL THINGS THAT SPOIL
A definition of SPOIL = something taken from another by force or craftiness... Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom." - Song 2:15. We must watch the small things which may spoil our testimony. This is a warning to believers to crush our sinful appetites and passions, which are as little foxes, which destroy our graces and comforts, and squash good beginnings. Whatever hinders us in that which is good, we must destroy it.

Remember... "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. - Luke 16:10. Be on guard against the “little foxes,” that evil thought, that hasty word, that burst of temper, that snap judgment which may bring defeat. Put on the whole armour of God by prayer, Bible study, and spiritual exercise, and we will be able to ward off enemies both large and small.

SMALL THINGS SOMETIMES GENERATE BIG OPPORTUNITIES!
And he said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground with them." And he struck three times and stopped. Then the man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times." - 2 Kings 13:18-19.

In neglecting small things, the King exposed half-heartedness, in neglecting small things it resulted in lost opportunity. Our unfaithfulness limits the goodness of God, but if we are faithful in the small things, He will be faithful in the big things.

Everybody has dreams of great opportunities. The reason our ship hasn't come in, is probably because we have sent none out. So many have said, "Well, if I had more ---------- Oh, the things I could do.” God is asking us, “What are you doing with what I have given you?” Health, home, children, husband, talent, money, etc. The smallest deed for Him, does not escape the eye of the Father, and He will bless it.

The Irish Potato Famine (1846-1851) resulted in a 30 percent drop in the population of the west of Ireland. The prolonged suffering of the Irish peasantry had broken the survivors in body and spirit.

John Bloomfield, the owner of Castle Caldwell in County Fermanagh, was working on the recovery of his estate when he noticed that the exteriors of his tenant farmers' small cottages had a vivid white finish. He was informed that there was a clay deposit on his property of unusually fine quality. To generate revenue and provide employment on his estate, he built a pottery at the village of Belleek in 1857. The unusually fine clay yielded a porcelain china that was translucent with a glass-like finish. It was worked into traditional Irish designs and was an immediate success.

Today, Belleek's delicate strength and its iridescent pearlized glaze is enthusiastically purchased the world over. This multimillion-dollar industry arose from innovative thinking during some very anxious times. - Bits & Pieces.

God is saying to us to pay close attention to small things, details, because it is these small things, that are preventing the great opportunities , that God want to bless us with.

Loving Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, help me to be more aware of the small things, that go undetected in my life, help me to be more appreciative of the small things that are around me, and to take the opportunities that you give me, in Jesus wonderful name I pray, amen.

GBYAY