DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
September Theme: STEADFASTNESS
Theme Scripture — 1 Corinthians 15:58 (KJV)
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
Main Scripture — Nehemiah 6:3 (KJV)
“And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?”
Central Thought
DON'T LET SMALL THINGS MOVE YOU FROM A GREAT WORK.
INTRODUCTION — BIG ENOUGH TO HANDLE THE LITTLE THINGS
There are some things in life that deserve our attention.
There are problems that must be addressed.
There are responsibilities we cannot ignore.
But then there are other things that we allow to become much bigger than they deserve to be.
Somebody didn't speak to you.
Somebody sat in your seat.
Somebody didn't return your telephone call.
Somebody forgot to thank you.
Somebody didn't recognize what you did.
Somebody looked at you the wrong way.
Somebody disagreed with your idea.
Somebody said something you didn't like.
And before we know it, something that should have lasted five minutes has occupied our minds for five days.
We lost our peace.
We stopped speaking.
We became angry.
We couldn't sleep.
We couldn't worship.
We couldn't concentrate.
And sometimes we even allowed something small to affect something much bigger.
That's why the title of this message is:
DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF!
Now, that does not mean every problem is small.
There are serious matters in life that require prayer, wisdom, action, and sometimes help from others.
But spiritual maturity teaches us:
EVERYTHING DOESN'T DESERVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF MY ENERGY.
You have only so much time.
Only so much emotional energy.
Only so much attention.
And you cannot spend your whole life fighting battles that don't matter.
ILLUSTRATION — THE PEBBLE IN YOUR SHOE
You can be walking toward an important destination with good shoes on your feet.
But one little pebble gets inside your shoe.
The mountain didn't stop you.
The weather didn't stop you.
The distance didn't stop you.
But that tiny pebble has your entire attention.
Sometimes it isn't the big things that move us.
It's the little irritations we refuse to deal with properly.
And that brings us back to 1 Corinthians 15:58:
“Be ye stedfast, unmoveable…”
If I'm going to be unmoveable, I cannot allow every little thing to move me.
Nehemiah understood that.
He was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.
He had a God-given assignment.
But Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and others kept trying to distract him.
Nehemiah's response was essentially:
“WHAT I'M DOING IS TOO IMPORTANT TO COME DOWN FOR THAT!”
Church, sometimes you've got to look at the distraction and say:
“I'M DOING A GREAT WORK. I'M NOT COMING DOWN!”
1. DON'T MAKE A BIG THING OUT OF A LITTLE THING
Proverbs 19:11
“The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.”
Notice the words:
“pass over.”
Not everything requires a response.
Not every comment needs an answer.
Not every misunderstanding needs a meeting.
Not every criticism requires a defense.
Not every disagreement requires an argument.
Sometimes spiritual maturity is demonstrated by what you are willing to:
LET GO.
BIBLE EXAMPLE — ABRAHAM AND LOT
In Genesis 13, Abraham's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen began arguing because there wasn't enough room for both groups.
Abraham could have said:
“I'm older.”
“God called me.”
“You came with me.”
Instead Abraham said:
Genesis 13:8
“Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee…for we be brethren.”
Abraham valued:
RELATIONSHIP
more than:
BEING RIGHT.
Short Story
Two people can pull on opposite ends of a rope all day.
The moment one person releases it—
THE STRUGGLE ENDS.
Some battles continue only because:
WE KEEP HOLDING THE ROPE.
Ask yourself:
“Will this matter next year?”
If not, maybe it doesn't deserve to ruin today.
DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF.
2. DON'T LET LITTLE PEOPLE PULL YOU DOWN FROM A GREAT WORK
Nehemiah 6:2–3
Nehemiah's enemies invited him to meet them in the plain of Ono.
But Nehemiah understood:
“they thought to do me mischief.”
His answer was:
“I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down…”
Notice something important:
Nehemiah did not stop building to prove to his enemies that he was building.
HE JUST KEPT BUILDING.
There will always be people who don't understand your assignment.
Some will criticize.
Some will question.
Some will misunderstand.
Some may even misrepresent you.
But you have to decide:
“IS ANSWERING THEM MORE IMPORTANT THAN FINISHING WHAT GOD GAVE ME TO DO?”
Illustration — The Airplane
When an airplane takes off, cars and houses below begin to look smaller.
The objects didn't shrink.
YOUR ALTITUDE CHANGED YOUR PERSPECTIVE.
Some things look enormous because we're too close to them.
Go higher in prayer.
Go higher in the Word.
Go higher in your thinking.
And some things that looked huge will start looking small.
DON'T COME DOWN!
3. DON'T LET SMALL OFFENSES BECOME BIG BITTERNESS
Hebrews 12:15
“Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you…”
Bitterness rarely begins as a giant tree.
It begins:
AS A ROOT.
Something was said.
Something wasn't said.
You weren't invited.
You weren't recognized.
Someone hurt your feelings.
And instead of dealing with it properly, you watered it.
You replayed it.
You talked about it.
You rehearsed it.
You thought about it before bed.
And something small started growing.
BIBLE EXAMPLE — ESAU
Genesis 27:41 says:
“And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him…”
The hurt became hatred.
The offense became bitterness.
Bitterness has a way of making yesterday's pain control today's life.
Illustration — The Splinter
A splinter is tiny.
But leave it under the skin long enough and it can become infected.
The problem isn't necessarily the size of what entered.
The problem is:
HOW LONG YOU ALLOW IT TO REMAIN.
Somebody needs to pull out:
The offense.
The resentment.
The grudge.
The bitterness.
Forgive them and:
KEEP MOVING.
4. DON'T LET SMALL DISTRACTIONS STEAL A BIG DESTINY
Nehemiah 6:4
“Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.”
Four times!
They kept calling.
Nehemiah kept saying:
NO.
Steadfast people must learn how to say:
NO.
Everything asking for your attention does not deserve your attention.
BIBLE EXAMPLE — MARTHA
Luke 10:40 says:
“But Martha was cumbered about much serving…”
Martha wasn't doing something sinful.
She was serving.
But she became distracted by something good and missed something better.
Jesus told her:
Luke 10:41–42
“Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
But one thing is needful…”
That's powerful.
MANY THINGS WERE BOTHERING MARTHA.
Jesus said:
ONE THING WAS NECESSARY.
Illustration — Phone Notifications
Imagine trying to have an important conversation while your phone alerts every few seconds.
Ding!
Message.
Ding!
Email.
Ding!
News.
Ding!
Social media.
Eventually you have to silence the notifications if you want to focus.
Some Christians need to put some things in life on:
SPIRITUAL “DO NOT DISTURB.”
Because God is trying to do something greater.
5. DON'T LET SMALL BEGINNINGS DISCOURAGE YOU
Sometimes the “small stuff” isn't a problem.
Sometimes it's:
THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING BIG.
Zechariah 4:10
“For who hath despised the day of small things?”
We often want God to start big.
But God frequently starts small.
A seed is small.
But inside that seed is a tree.
David was a shepherd boy.
Joseph began with a dream.
Moses had a rod.
The widow had a little oil.
The disciples had five loaves and two fishes.
The mustard seed is small.
But small doesn't mean:
INSIGNIFICANT.
BIBLE EXAMPLE — DAVID
When Samuel came to Jesse's house, David wasn't even initially brought before him.
He was out tending sheep.
His family saw:
A SHEPHERD BO
