Discovering it isn’t so small after all

Settle in a moment if you have the time. I want to challenge all of us with a different way of thinking about that one small step we need to take today, that one action we’ve been putting off, that one phone call we need to make, that one decision hanging in the balance, that one step into the rest of our lives. And I want to begin by telling you about the “yod”. It’s the name of a little mark with enormous potential. 

I imagine you’ve heard of the butterfly effect, the theory describing the world as so deeply interconnected that one small occurrence can influence a much larger complex system. The potential of the Yod is similar, but incomparably greater when we hold it in the light of God. 

The yod, or yud as it is also spelled, is the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It’s the smallest of all the letters, a mere dot, (think of the English apostrophe) and yet, because it’s used in combination with all the other letters, it is a part of every word in the Hebrew language. 

Yahweh, the name of God, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), the city where He put His name, and Yeshua, (Jesus), the Name above all names to which every knee will one day bow, they all begin with the humble yod. 

I love considering the moment of time when the Eternal Son was a fertilized egg so small He was unseen and unknown by all but the Eternal Father and marveling at how the spelling of His name begins with the tiniest of marks on the page. The yod. How fitting for the Savior, “Who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2: 6-11. The yod teaches us that there is power in humility, that the little things aren’t so small after all. 

The yods’ importance could be easily overlooked by the uneducated scholar (that’s me!) because its diminutive size makes it seem inconsequential. Likewise, you and I can struggle to believe in the potential of the everyday thoughts, words, and actions that make up our commonplace lives– be they good or bad. We can be tempted to think what we did or didn’t do yesterday, and what we said or didn’t say today, have little bearing on how lives, so we give ourselves permission to act or refrain from acting. And yet Hosea 8:7 speaks of how a single decision yields unseen consequences, “You have sown the wind and you will read the whirlwind.” 

I’m challenging myself, and then I’m challenging you. Let’s heed the lesson of the yod. Let’s believe in the power of bowing our soul and submitting over what seems a small matter when we feel God pressing in on us to obey. Let’s believe in the potential of that sincere apology offered after a conflict, whether or not it seems to have been accepted. Let’s believe in that one prayer, or that one self-denying service to another soul, and the potential of all these small things to change us and the world around us, and then let’s thread these small “yods” into beautiful lives.

Do you need to see big change in some area of your life, be it your family, your job, your health, or most importantly, your relationship with Jesus? Nature is always teaching us about God and the principles He established that govern our lives. That’s a baby cypress tree I’m holding in this picture. I found it growing in a crack on the dock this morning. I’ve since carried it inside and replanted it— just an experiment to see if I can grow it indoors. I’ll let you know. Meanwhile, those are mature cypress trees in the background, beautifully illustrating the yod. Change and growth is possible, one step, one day at a time.

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin,” Zechariah 4:10.

How cool is that? You and I can take a step in the right direction today, and however small it may seem to us, our decision will cause Almighty God to rejoice. We’re never stuck where we are unless we choose to be.

Hugs, Shellie