When God Starts Small
A simple lamp, a steady source, quiet light filling the corner.
Devotional Credit: Immeasurably More, Ray Stedman
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Corinth loved the sound of its own wisdom. Paul lifts the curtain and shows a better stage, where God’s wisdom moves in ways the world would never script. The passage, 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, says that God often chooses what looks weak, overlooked, and ordinary. Not to embarrass anyone, but to empty human boasting so that Jesus gets seen for who He is. Thank you, Ray Stedman, for drawing our eyes to that gracious pattern.
Paul even points to the believers themselves. Not many were city shakers or household names. Most were everyday workers. Yet God called them, placed them in Christ, and made them living proof that the power rests in Him, not in pedigree. The point is not to chase status. The point is to trust the presence of the Lord who lives within His people.
This is not a slight against those with influence. God uses men and women of stature when they learn that usefulness is not in position, but in the presence of Jesus. The cross levels us all. The Spirit makes us one family. No one brings leverage into the kingdom. We bring our need, and the Lord brings His life.
If the world’s wisdom shouts louder, this word steadies the heart. You are not on the outside looking in. You are included in a people, called together in Jesus, where the treasure is the Lord Himself. He delights to display His life through jars of clay, so no one boasts in self, and everyone boasts in Him.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I called you when you were not impressive in the eyes of the world, and I did it on purpose, so that your confidence would rest in Me. I set you in Jesus, not so you would strive to make a name, but so you would learn to listen and to depend. I am the One who works in you to will and to do for My good pleasure. I place My treasure in jars of clay, so that the surpassing power may be Mine and not yours.
Do not measure your worth by status, applause, or credentials. Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. You are My workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that I prepared beforehand. I give more grace. When you are weak, I am strong in you. I dwell in you, Christ in you, the hope of glory. Abide in Me, and fruit will come that remains. Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit.
Walk humbly with Me. Think with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith I have given. You are part of a body, set among brothers and sisters, where the less visible are indispensable. I resist the proud. I give grace to the humble. Cast your cares on Me, for I care for you. Let your soul rest, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of a small desk lamp in a dark room. The lamp is simple. The cord is thin. No one praises the cord. Yet when it is plugged into the outlet, the whole corner fills with light. The lamp does not strain. It does not try to glow brighter by gritting its teeth. It simply draws from the source, and the light appears where there was once shadow.
Today, you might enter a meeting where your title is modest, or a conversation where your words seem plain. You do not need to power up. You are not the source. You are the lamp. In that moment, you can quietly yield, Lord, I entrust this conversation to You, live Your life through me with clarity and kindness right now. Then ask the neighbor a sincere question. Offer patient attention. Speak truth without edge. Let Jesus, by the Spirit, provide the light.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that You chose what the world overlooks, and You set me in Jesus. Thank You that my life is hidden with Christ in You, and that Your Spirit lives in me. I am content to be the lamp while You are the light. I affirm that all sufficiency is from You. I rejoice that every good work prepared for today is already wrapped in Your grace. My boast is in the Lord. My rest is in the Lord. My confidence is in the Lord who works in me.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
1 Corinthians 1:26-31; 2 Corinthians 4:7; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6-11; Ephesians 2:4-10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Luke 16:15; Jeremiah 9:23-24; James 4:6; Matthew 11:28-30; Romans 12:3; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10; Zechariah 4:6; Philippians 2:13; Colossians 1:27; John 15:5; Psalm 34:2; Micah 6:8; 1 Peter 5:5-7