“Though you are little among the thousands…”
Have you ever felt small? Insignificant? Unimportant or unnoticed?
Among the thousands of nations and kingdoms in the world, there was one tiny group of people God chose to use, solely because He desired to magnify His power in them.
Today, we are no different. God chooses us, not because we possess significance on our own, but because with His power reigning in us, we become greater than before. When the prophet Micah professes, “though you are little among the thousands...”, he’s reminding them of their humble beginnings. The generation of people he’s talking to would have passed down stories of wars and battles their ancestors had to fight to acquire the Promised land. Listeners would have heard about Jericho and the walls that came tumbling down and the giant Goliath. Even as Micah proclaims this message, the folks who listen to him feel their current smallness as people who live around massive, wealthy well-established kingdoms.
But the rest of the scripture says “yet,” which is significant. I love that God can show us who we were and still give us a second for a turnaround, an opportunity, a second chance, a new path, even a new hope. YET. The one word that will change everything for them as they think about who they are and who they thought they were destined to be.
YET. The prophet gives them hope for the future. They are receiving the promise that the greatest ruler of the spiritual world come and bring salvation to the living world through their smallness. Had they been a big kingdom, there would not be any room for God’s miraculous plan. I wonder if there are parallels between the children of Israel and us. If you answered yes to any of the questions posed at the beginning of this post, you might realize that the purpose of your insignificance to some people may be because God seeks to manifest Himself in your life in such a large way that they notice Him and by seeing Him they see you as His vessel. I know it may not feel that way, but the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.”
My prayer for you is that you submit yourself to the position God has given you. My prayer is that you rest in the circumstances that leave you feeling small and purposeless. Know that God is greater and memorize this fact:
“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” – 1 John 4:4
Micah 5:2-4
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”
Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth;
Then the remnant of His brethren
Shall return to the children of Israel.
And He shall stand and feed His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He shall be great
To the ends of the earth;