Little Things
Another thing I've observed concerning God's people when they start to see these things is they tend to want to start a lot bigger than they're ready for. Many times that leads to discouragement and disaster, with people starting to believe God wasn't faithful and abandoned them when they needed Him the most.
The problem as I've seen it through the years is people will attempt to run before they learn to walk, and they bring most if not all of the disaster upon themselves. They may not be ready to perform the task they believe God has given them - as far as skills go - or they may not have reached the maturity level to understand it's going to be a long process that will cost them a lot.
Getting ahead of God and getting in over our heads is a sure way to failure, and it has nothing to do with God, other than He will patiently wait for us to understand what it is we did and why things didn't work out the way we expected them to.
We are admonished to not despise the days of small things (Zechariah 4:10), and we need to embrace that concept and be willing to quietly and faithfully go about our work until God brings us up to the next level, if that is in fact what His will is. We also shouldn't do things for the purpose of being seen. Public exposure before we're ready to handle all aspects of it is very dangerous.
The key is to work on becoming the best we can where we're working (not necessarily a job - it could be a work-at-home mom, or volunteer, etc.) now, and to faithfully serve there. That gives God some material He can work with. It also protects us from being publicly humiliated, even if we have inflicted that humiliation upon ourselves. This is one of the reasons God so many times in the Holy Scriptures admonishes us to wait on Him.
Waiting doesn't mean a passiveness that isn't working towards something, it means we are to be faithful in what we're now doing, while we wait or look for and anticipate the time God adds more responsibility to us. That's what many believers don't understand. Being rewarded in this life in service isn't receiving a crown, it's receiving more responsibility because we've proven we can be faithful and trusted in something little we were given to do. Rewards, as we think of them in the way mentioned above, will be handed out by God after the resurrection.
If we are faithful in little, we can be trusted to be faithful in much, if that is the will of God for us. We must be careful not to grab for responsibility prematurely, as that usually comes about from not properly discerning where we are at in the process and progress of our work. God knows when we're ready, and we need to learn to get out of the way and let Him open the doors for us. That is a protection for us, not something that is meant to frustrate.
What if Jesus Doesn't Return Soon
False End-time Prophecies and Loss of Functioning of Body of Christ
In the Heart of God before creation
Sit ... Until I Make Thine Enemies Thy Footstool
Some Thoughts on the Last Days
Great Encouragement
Taking Responsibility
Christian Service
Little Things
Progress and the Kingdom
Conclusion
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