Little

…When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel… I Samuel 15:17

LITTLE- Strong’s Hebrew # 6994, # 6996- not worthy, insignificant, small in importance or strength, low in social standing, triviality.

Several times through the Old Testament this word was used in referring to little children, a little lad, a little child, and a little maid. The majority of those times the child wasn’t named, due I suppose to their insignificance.

When I was a child times were starting to change. (You’ll know I’m old when I write this.) But, I can recall going to a few homes where the children waited until the adults had eaten, then they could eat what was left.

We were told, “Children are to be seen not heard." Whatever children had to say back then was generally not considered important.

In the New Testament when children came to Jesus He would lift them up and hold them. But, I’m sure the Apostles tried to shoo them away because they were insignificant.

But, what significance were they to Jesus?

Jesus said…”Become as a little child." Matthew 18:2-6

"…Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child , he shall not enter therein." Mark 10:15

Surely Jesus didn’t want us to become small in stature and maturity. I think He wants us to become insignificant as to our own importance, other than the fact that we are His child..

King David said, “ I am small and despised…" Psalms 119:141. He had committed adultery and murder. From reading his prayer of repentance in Psalms 51, I can’t help but believe he wasn’t referring to what others thought of him here, but of what he felt about himself.

These scriptures bring to my remembrance a time in my life when I was married to a companion who was disloyal, and unfaithful, time and again. When I faced people at church or the community who knew of his infidelities, and they mentioned my faithfulness and good attitude considering the circumstances. I would say that was how I was supposed to be. It never dawned on me that I was proud of being a faithful wife in spite of the circumstances. That God was the one who was making the difference in my life and attitude. I didn’t know my heart.

I noticed something when reading Psalms 51, David said, "…Create in me a clean heart… renew in me a right spirit… restore unto me the joy of thy salvation…" Renew and restore mean to bring back something I once had. Create means to make something I never had. Perhaps David and I were the same. Our right spirit and joy in salvation fooled us into thinking our heart was clean, too. But, God could see what we couldn’t.

"...Who maketh thee to differ from another? What hast thou that thou didst not receive?" I Corinthians 10:12-18

In our plain old daily language we would say; "Why are you acting like you’re something special? Did you create your beautiful face? Did you create that intelligent mind? Did you create your talent?"

Not only do we sometimes get puffed up for physical reasons. If someone has committed a bad sin or has a bad attitude we are probably all guilty at one time or another of saying, “I’m glad I’m not like that.”

What does Jesus say about that attitude?

Pharisee (Praying) “God I thank thee that I am not as other men are, (I can hear him now in that holier-than-thou voice) extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all I possess.”

Publican (Praying, and not even lifting his eyes to heaven.) “God be merciful to me a sinner.”

Who do you think was little in his own eyes? Of course the publican was. And Jesus said he went home justified but not the other man.

"Put on therefore…humbleness of mind…" Colossians 3:12

If we are to put on humbleness of mind, what is it? Does that mean sitting in a corner not doing anything?

HUMBLENESS – Greek # 5012- This virtue, a fruit of the gospel, exists when a person through most genuine self-evaluation deems himself worthless. The humble person is not stressing his sinfulness, but his creatureliness, of absolute dependence, of possessing nothing, and of receiving all things from God.

"…And to be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves …that He may exalt you…" I Peter 5:5-6

PROUD –Greek # 5524- One who compares himself (secretly or openly) with others and lifts himself above them.

"Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind…" Philippians 2:3

I always thought strife was when people fought verbally or physically. But, Strong’s Concordance brings it out more personally for me.

STRIFE – Greek # 2052- Ambition, self-seeking, rivalry, self-will being an underlying idea in the word.

Sin can and does change a person. For years I’ve tried to recover my relationship with God, and become the fun-loving person with a positive outlook on life that I once was. But, now that I look at it in a different light, maybe that was the JOY OF THE LORD and HIS positive outlook reflecting through me. When people enjoyed being around me, it wasn’t me, but HIM they were drawn to.

Because of my self-will and unclean heart these situations have happened in my life. I pray that I can humble myself so HE can exalt me, so His JOY, positive outlook, and trust can be reflected through me.

Barbara Bush wrote a book;”Heart Trouble”. In it she tells me how to be humble.

1. Be teachable-Have a desire to learn more of God’s Word. II Timothy 2:15, Acts 17:11

2. Be obedient-It takes greater humility to obey than to only listen. John 14:15, Matthew 15:8

3. Be submissive-Submissive isn’t much different from obedience. Submission refers to the attitude, and obedience shows action. Submission isn’t a teeth-gritting, resentful response but a loving reverence for others. Ephesians 5:19-24, Ephesians 6:1-3

4. Be gentle-Not the aggressive confrontational attitude of the world. I Peter 3:4-5

5. Be prayerful-Prayer is an act of humility. We are admitting to God we aren’t able to make it on our own. Our pride is what keeps us from seeking God. Psalms 10:4, Zephaniah 2:3

I have said many times that I got so busy I forgot to pray. Though I didn’t say it verbally, my actions are saying, “God, I can make it on my own. I don’t need your help.” That doesn’t sound humble to me.
There have been some things God has cleansed from my heart and yet others He is still working on. If I can only see my heart as He sees it and allow Him to change me.

Shelly's Story

She was a reserved, polite girl. There wasn’t the rebelliousness we struggled with in most of the Haven of Hope (HOH) girls. So why was she here you may ask. Shelly had grown up in the projects, her mom was emotionally unstable and abused drugs, her dad was an alcoholic, and she had been molested. So it was decided that she would be a high risk child to have in the less structured environment of the Mansion.

Shelly had been won to God through ‘Street Rage’ and was mentored by the people who started it. She seemed to have an unusually strong love for God than most children her age. And was quick to stand up for what she believed to be right. She wasn’t as likely to be in trouble because of peer pressure as the other girls she lived with at HOH.

We watched Shelly grow in knowledge of the Word, and blossom under the love, and structure we provided her. When she completed the program at Haven of Hope it wasn’t easy to see her return to the environment she had grown up in. We prayerfully kept in touch with her to give encouragement. We encouraged Shelly to stay in school when she talked about quitting due to problems she was having there. And when she left her family and moved into the home of some godly people she attended church with in another city we were thrilled.

Considering the factors from Shelly’s childhood it was a miracle in itself to see her graduate from high school. But, for her to graduate with honors was an amazing feat and testimony of the astonishing young lady she has become.

While waiting for college to start Shelly texted me one day and excitedly told me she had been hired at Wendy’s fast food restaurant. Then a few weeks later she texted again and said she doesn’t like her job and was planning to quit. I asked if she has another job lined up and she replied that she didn’t. So I talked to her about her performance on that job affecting the type of job that might be available for her when she moves on. We discussed how she can set her mind to be the best employee they had, about her possibly being the one to lead one of her peers to God, and how that could be the purpose of her being there. So she decided she would work hard at the job and pray for God’s guidance.

Shelly is an unusual young lady and seems thankful for the advice given her. She is still working at Wendy’s and attending college to become an accountant. She is involved with her church, is active with ‘Street Rage’ in helping reach other teens that are growing up in the same environment as she did, and is praying for God to direct her in His will. A while ago she told me that she is doing wonderful in her job and college.

Though we know we have helped others, seeing the success Shelly is encourages us to continue reaching out to other young women who have had tough things thrown at them in life. We feel confident we can see others reach out and grasp the help that we offer through Haven of Hope Girl’s Home.