Most things that eventually become significant begin small. A tree begins with a seed. A ministry can begin with a burden in someone's heart. A church can begin with a handful of people praying and meeting together.
The challenge is that we see what something is right now. God sees what it can become.
Plant the Seed
Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day he sleeps and wakes, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he knows not how. Mark 4:26-27 (BSB)
The farmer had a responsibility—he had to scatter the seed. Nothing grows if nothing is planted.
Our part is to pray, serve, invite, encourage, share our faith, and take steps of obedience. Faith means doing our part while trusting God to do what we cannot do.
But the farmer could not make the seed grow. Some things only God can do. We plant faithfully, but God brings the growth. What small step might God be asking you to take right now?
Trust the Process
All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within. And as soon as the grain is ripe, he swings the sickle, because the harvest has come.” Mark 4:28-29 (BSB)
Growth happens in stages—first the stalk, then the head, then the grain, then the harvest. We often want to go directly from planting to harvest, but that is usually not how growth works.
Sometimes the seed is growing before anything can be seen above the ground. We may pray, serve, and believe without immediately seeing results, but that does not mean God is not working.
Our responsibility is to remain faithful through every stage. There may be an area where we need to keep praying, serving, and trusting God instead of becoming discouraged.
Do Not Judge the Future by the Beginning
Then He asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God? With what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds sown upon the earth. Mark 4:30-31 (BSB)
When we look at a seed, we see what it is now. We cannot see what it will become.
We can do the same thing with what God is doing. We look at the number of people, our resources, or our abilities and think something is too small to matter.
But small does not mean insignificant. Small may simply mean the beginning. Something that seems small in your life today may be more important than you realize.
Believe God for What It Can Become
But after it is planted, it grows to be the largest of all garden plants and puts forth great branches, so that the birds of the air nest in its shade.” Mark 4:32 (BSB)
The tiny seed became something much larger than its beginning suggested. What grew also became a blessing to others. The birds could make nests in its shade.
What God grows is not just for us. It can eventually encourage, help, reach, and provide a place for other people.
Instead of only asking, “What is this now?” we can also ask, “What might God want this to become?”
Small Faith Can Face Big Challenges
Jesus also used the mustard seed to teach about faith.
“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 (BSB)
Jesus’ point was not that faith has to begin big. He used one of the smallest things people knew—a mustard seed—to describe faith that could face something as large as a mountain.
We do not have to know how everything will happen before we take the first step. We can begin with the faith we have, trust God’s power, and believe Him for things that may seem much bigger than us.
The size of the challenge is not the measure of what God can do.
For Reflection
- What small step might God be asking you to take right now?
- Where do you need to keep praying, serving, and trusting God instead of becoming discouraged?
- What is one challenge in your life where you need to stop focusing on the size of the mountain and begin trusting in the power of God?
A Small Beginning with a Larger Vision
Pathway Care Ministries is small right now, but that does not tell us what God may want it to become. We have been planting a seed—praying together, studying God’s Word, building relationships, and caring for people.
For some time, Carol and I have been praying about what the next stage of Pathway might look like. We believe God may be leading us toward something larger.
Our long-term vision is Pathway Church West County—a church with Sunday services where people can worship, grow in God’s Word, build relationships, receive prayer and care, and reach others in our community.
We do not know every step or how quickly it may happen. This is still a small beginning. But that is exactly what Jesus has been teaching us: plant the seed, trust God with the growth, and do not judge what something can become by how small it looks today.
So we want to begin praying together and asking: What might God want this to become, and what part might He have for each of us as it grows?
