The Daily: Wednesday September 17, 2025

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." - Luke 16:10


When facing enormous challenges like climate change, political division, or systemic injustice, our individual efforts can feel insignificant. What difference does recycling one bottle make when oceans fill with plastic? How can planting one garden help when forests are disappearing?

Jesus addresses this very human doubt through his parables. The shepherd searches for one sheep out of a hundred. The woman turns her house upside down for one coin out of ten. These stories reveal a God who values what seems small and celebrates incremental restoration.

The Everglades restoration offers a powerful real-world example. After decades of environmental degradation, community efforts like oyster planting began to heal the damaged ecosystem. Scientists were astonished at how quickly nature rebounded—bird populations increased dramatically, water quality improved, and life returned to areas once desolate. This is the miracle of small, faithful actions multiplied.

One person creating places for oysters to repopulate might seem futile, but many people doing so over time creates significant change. One congregation reducing plastic might seem symbolic, but many communities doing so transforms systems. God rejoices in these small offerings—not because they single-handedly solve global problems, but because they participate in the divine work of finding what was lost and restoring what was broken. Each action matters because it's part of a larger movement toward healing. Today, resist the temptation to dismiss small actions as meaningless. Instead, see them as God does—as valuable coins worth searching for, as lost sheep worth celebrating when found.

Leadership consultant Peter Drucker says ""We greatly overestimate what we can accomplish in one year, but we greatly underestimate what we can accomplish in five years." It's a great reminder of our often sleeping power!

Reflection Question: What small, consistent action could you take this week that might contribute to healing in your community or environment, and how might viewing this action through God's eyes change your motivation?

Prayer: God who values the small and celebrates the found, thank you for seeing significance in my seemingly insignificant actions. Help me to resist cynicism and despair when problems seem too big. Give me the courage to take small, faithful steps toward healing, trusting that you multiply these efforts in ways I cannot see. May I find joy in participating in your work of restoration, one small action at a time. Amen.