A television travel host stumbled on a Chinese village that was made up entirely of little people. It was a tourist attraction, with scaled-down houses, smaller furniture, and acting stages sized to fit the people who lived there. Each person living in the village was in costume, becoming a part of a real life fairy tale. The travel host loved it.
In an ironic turn, the very next season, the host traveled with an actual little person, Warwick Davis, renowned British actor. At the end of their travels together, they attempted to climb Mt. Emei, one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains of China. Warwick outdid himself, making the climb on foot, despite his size of 3’6”. He overshadowed the host, who gave in and hired a panier for much of the way to the top. Warwick became a bigger man than his actual size, despite his diminutive proportions.
No matter our place in society, our wealth, or our accomplishments, we are all little people when compared to God.
Jacob had twelve children. Of these, only the youngest, Benjamin, was born after Jacob was renamed Israel. He was the baby of the group, his father’s treasured son, and the “kid” to be teased by his siblings who were much older.
Yet, Benjamin rose above his station as kid brother and Daddy’s favorite to become great in the eyes of God.
Psalm 68:27 tells us:
“There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead, the princes of Judah in their throng, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.”
Just like Warwick, Benjamin had to work harder to achieve his success, and like Warwick, he became greater in stature than those around him when he did.
1 Chronicles 12:2 says more:
“They were bowmen and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right or the left hand; they were Benjaminites.”
Benjamin’s work ethic carried on to his descendants. The best of the soldiers of Israel were from the least of the tribes. They excelled because they put their backs into it.
Judges 3:15 reveals the power of God’s upwelling strength:
”Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.”
Who delivered the people of Israel? One from the least of the tribes, a left-handed man led by God.
What holds us back? Social stigma? Lack of money? Limited education? Those aren’t reasons. They are excuses. When we give ourselves wholly to the Lord, his strength will lift us up, and we will rise in glory before the world.
We must get our eyes on God, for he is the source of our strength and our power.
Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.D.18.15.vp.esv
Originally Published 6-27-22 in Hope