Go Small to Go Big!

Have you ever wondered how on earth you’re going to reach your goal? Whether your goal is a new level of fitness, a new house, a big vacation, or something else, how do you get to those big milestones?

I’ve been contemplating this and praying about it for awhile, and I feel like I have heard this from the Lord:

Go small to go big.

This may not apply to every person or every situation, and that’s okay. But if it applies to you, you’ll know it–and I pray it will encourage you.

Here’s my situation:

I abhor debt. I used to love it, though.

Years ago, I learned a lot about how to use debt to my advantage–at least, to what the world tells us is my advantage. I took a bunch of real estate classes, year after year–spending thousands of dollars on them–about how to use other people’s money (OPM) to buy apartment buildings and rental houses and, basically, build an empire for myself.

But then the Lord broke me of my love for debt when we bought a second house without selling our first one. The first one was tiny and we thought it would sell right away, but it didn’t. We didn’t want to rent it out if we could avoid it; we didn’t want the liability.

So we paid both mortgages on both houses–and on some land that we owned, too–for YEARS. And suffice it to say, we bled financially.

Fast forward more than ten years. We are still paying for the first house, but we rented it out about eight years ago in self-defense. And last year, we sold the land we owned–at more than a 50% loss.

Yeah. That’s bad.

But you know what? The whole debacle has really taught me a lesson, because:

Before we ever bought house #2, we had a plan in place to stay in the first house (which was tiny and therefore very cheap), save money, and get a leg up on our finances. But could I wait? Noooooooo.

So instead, we entered into more debt (the mortgage on our current house, which is still small but is bigger and safer). And I used to think that was okay, but now I hate debt. And I want OUT from under this mortgage.

The Bible says that the borrower is servant to the lender. It says we shouldn’t owe anyone anything. And I want to be OUT of servitude to lenders. I want to obey God in the area of owing no man anything, too.

But right now, we don’t have the money to just write a check and pay off our house. We’re chipping away at it, month by month, but it will take awhile unless God sends a miracle. And during this time, when we long for a bigger, more comfortable house with some privacy and peace, we have another choice before us:

• Stay small and get out of debt–and then keep saving so we can eventually pay cash for the home we desire; or
• Get into debt again.

The world tells us to get into debt again, or to take on more debt.

But I don’t want to do that. I have become so convicted about it that the thought of another mortgage makes me cringe. It has become intolerable to my spirit.

So how will we get there? Unless God sends us a big ol’ check out of the blue, we’ll just have to go small to go big:

• We’ll have to stay in this small house until we can pay cash for a bigger house. OR,
• We could sell this house and use our equity (as the house has appreciated some) to purchase a little bitty house for cash.

I’m not opposed to either one. I don’t know which one my husband will agree to, so I’m cleaning the house and de-cluttering so that we would be ready to move when the time comes. Even if we have to live in a smaller house so we can save money.

Go small to go big.

It doesn’t make sense to the flesh. But, in the end, the decision to go small to go big might actually be a catapult that would send us to the next level of prosperity–both for my husband and myself AND for our son and eventual grandchildren.

How does this apply to you?

Going to the next level always requires sacrifice. It takes time–one of the hardest things to sacrifice! It takes money and effort and sweat and tears and prayers. And none of those things are gratifying to the flesh.

But you know what? Those sacrifices–the small, hidden things that keep us small–always seem to set us up to go big later.

Go small to go big.

God always works this way, whether it’s in finance, ministry, family, or anything else:

• He teaches a family how to stay home together and say no to flashy extracurricular activities. Then suddenly they have a rock-solid family that’s the envy of all their friends.
• He prepares people for ministry in hiddenness, then He flaunts them to the world and gives them a microphone to preach.
• He prepares people to walk in prosperity by teaching them how to save and invest for years, then suddenly they become millionaires.

Go small to go big.

Going big requires a sacrifice.

There is always a price to be paid when you want to do something big. Whether you want to become a millionaire before age 30, retire before your parents, build a business, go into ministry full-time, write a song, record an album, change careers, or whatever …

… all these things come with a price tag spelled s-a-c-r-i-f-i-c-e.

Staying small for awhile IS the sacrifice.

Staying small for awhile in order to lay the right foundation can be a hard thing to do. Going small if you’ve already tried to go big–but without the proper foundation–can be even harder.

But going small to go big might be just the thing God wants you to do.

It’s a concept that goes against all our human tendencies. It’s a concept that only Holy Spirit can inspire. Nevertheless, it’s a concept that can catapult you to the next level.

Has the Lord been whispering to you to go small to go big, also? What are your thoughts about this? Please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!