This is the eighth (8th) of the ELECTION SERIES – articles published by White Butterfly in anticipation of the forthcoming elections in May 2022.
NOTE
As Richard and Henry Blackaby say in this article, the Lord can easily use His power when needed, but He chose the “small” and the ordinary – a baby or innocent children or 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes, or the miniscule mustard seed that grows into an enormous tree or just a band of twelve instead of a throng of followers – to show that in His hands, the seemingly small and ordinary become powerful instruments of his message.
Today, heading towards our elections, we see “big” often masquerading as “better.” The spectacular, the loud, the dramatic, the feast for eyes or ears. The grand but deceptive words. The extensive trolling and controlling of minds on the Internet. The more bombarding, the better. These get attention quickly, like fireworks. After that, what? Will it make our lives better? Our country stronger? With what power?
Then there’s the quiet, consistent effort to help others, build communities, gain people’s trust day after day after day. It comes without fanfare, just the heart for doing what is right with faith, honesty, integrity, relentless hard work. One small step at a time.
It might go unnoticed by those who are impressed by fireworks. But for those whose minds are awake or whose lives or livelihood have been transformed by someone’s act of service, those small steps will have the power to make our citizenry finally reclaim its country from self-serving interlopers. Let us choose the person who has been serving the country for some time now and will continue to do so as the true servant-leader we urgently need, for the Philippines we rightly deserve.
With faith in God and determined efforts on the ground, let us ask Him to guide us towards a victorious march born from the small steps of an enlightened heart focused on the good of our beloved country. (Teresita Tanseco-Cruz))
HENRY T. BLACKABY & RICHARD BLACKABY
taken from the book, EXPERIENCING GOD.
for who has despised the day of small things – Zechariah 4:10
The world loves the spectacular. God has proven that He is certainly capable of the extraordinary, but He often chooses to work through the ordinary and seemingly insignificant. In this way He demonstrates His love and His power.
Throughout history, God’s answer to a critical time was to send a baby. Isaac, Moses, Samuel, John the Baptist, and Jesus were all born as answers to a time of need. When God delivered the Israelites from the Midianites’ oppression, He intentionally used an army of merely three hundred men to defeat a vastly larger army. He had more soldiers available, but He preferred to demonstrate His power in the way He accomplished His purposes. When Jesus selected his first disciples He could have enlisted a multitude to follow Him, but He chose twelve. It was not the number of disciples but the quality of their walk with Him that would determine how they affected their world. When Jesus fed a multitude, five loaves of bread and two fish from a boy’s lunch were sufficient in the hands of the Lord.
Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32). The mustard seed was the smallest seed known to the Jews, yet it grew into an enormous tree. He also likened God’s kingdom to leaven that is hardly noticeable but raises the entire batch of dough (Matthew 13:33). When children came to Jesus, His disciples assumed they were an annoyance and chased them away (Matthew 19:13-15). But Jesus said that in order to enter His kingdom, people must approach God as a child.
Christians often accept the adage “the bigger the better.” We measure success by the number of people involved in our ministry. We seek spectacular displays of God’s power. We must learn to view success as God does. God is interested in the heart; He is pleased with obedience.
PRAYER FOR THE 2022 PHILIPPINE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
We implore you, Lord Jesus, to give our Filipino nation a chance to rise up from our misery and suffering and to cope with the pandemic crisis. Give us, through the coming election, a leader who will take care not of one’s self but of the poor and the needy, one who is God-fearing, who cannot be undermined by greedy, corrupt, and hypocritical politicians.
Save our nation, which is thirsty for your love and justice. Through the help of Mother Mary, our mother, and yours. Amen.
