There Is Grace In Your Starting Point – Embracing God’s Process Without Getting Stuck in It 

Some of the greatest stories in Scripture began in the wrong place: a burning bush in the desert, a shepherd boy in the field, a broken woman at a well at noon. God did not leave them there. He met them in their smallness and moved them to their destiny. Your story is no different. There is grace in your starting point—but God is calling you beyond it. Start there, but don’t remain there. 

God is not ashamed of where you are today. He is not intimidated by your résumé, your profile, your family background, or the mistakes of your past. The God we serve has a habit of meeting people right in the middle of their mess, their unanswered questions, and their small beginnings. 

As in the case of the Israelites: 

“And the Lord said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I have come down to rescue them from the land of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.’” (Exodus 3:7–8) 

God always starts with us where we are. But He never intends to leave us there. The Israelites found themselves in slavery, and by reason of their taskmasters the Lord came down to bring them up. 

Jesus met the woman at the well in her shame, drawing water at noon to avoid the stares of the city. But He didn’t leave her at the well. He gave her living water, and she ran back to the city as an evangelist. 

Uncle Job says, “Though you may start with little, you will end with much” (Job 8:7, NLT). 

He found David in the field with sheep, overlooked by his own family. But He didn’t leave him there. He anointed him, trained him, and took him to the palace. He called Peter a fisherman with a quick temper and shaky faith. But He didn’t leave him casting nets. He made him a fisher of men and built the Church on his obedience. 

The God of Beginnings 

In Philippians 1:6, we see a “start-and-finish God”: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” 

That job you don’t like yet. That struggle that feels endless. That season of waiting. That ministry with three people and no budget. That may be where God started you. And that’s okay. A seed must be buried before it can break forth. A baby must crawl before it can walk. A disciple must sit before he can be sent. God is a God of process. But process is not the same as prison. 

The Danger of Staying in “There” 

The wilderness was meant to prepare Israel, not to be their permanent address. It was a classroom, not a home. The tomb was for three days, not forever. Even death had to give way to resurrection. The seed must go into the ground, but it was never designed to stay in the ground. Its purpose is to die, and then to grow. 

“The real tragedy isn’t starting small. The real tragedy is staying small when God is calling you higher.” Some of us have gotten too comfortable in “there.” 

– Comfortable in the same prayer without progress. 

– Comfortable in the same mindset of lack, the same hurt from yesterday, the same cycle of sin and apology. 

Israel spent 40 years on an 11-day journey because they refused to trust God and move forward. Don’t let fear, comfort, or familiarity make you a permanent resident of a place God only intended as a pit stop. 

Keys to Move from “There” to “There” 

1. Recognize It’s a Season, Not a Destination 

God uses starting points to build character, faith, patience, and dependence on Him. 

James 1:4: “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete.” 

Thank God for the season. Learn in it. But don’t pitch your tent there. Ask daily: “Lord, what are You teaching me here?” 

2. Obey the Next Instruction 

Growth never happens in a vacuum. It follows obedience. The next step may feel small—forgive that person, serve where no one sees you, study that book, apply for that role, sow that seed. But it is the step that unlocks the next door. God leads us from glory to glory. 

3. Allow God to Stretch You 

New levels will always require a new you. You cannot carry tomorrow’s assignment with yesterday’s mindset. 

Zechariah 4:10: “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” Rejoice in the start but also rejoice in the process of becoming. 

4. Surround Yourself with Forward-Moving People 

You will never grow beyond the circle you keep. Find people who are praying bigger, believing God for more, and walking in obedience. Proximity to faith will pull you out of stagnation. 

Child of God, note these: 

– Your starting point is not your final point. 

– The classroom is not your casket. 

– The process is not your prison. 

– The delay is not denial. 

God is not finished with you. The same hands that picked you up from “there” are the same hands guiding you to “there.” 

Child of God, start there. But don’t remain there. 

See that the Lord is meeting you in your lack, your pain, your confusion, and your smallness. Honor the season. But say yes to your forward call. Let God lead you out of comfort and into calling. Let Him stretch you, teach you, and take you to the next level He has prepared. Refuse to remain where He only meant you to start. 

Stand up. Dust off the dust of “there.” 

Keep praying. Keep growing. Keep obeying. 

Because the God who began the work in you is faithful to complete it. 

Written by Elder Confidence Assan (Pumpside District, Assin Foso Area)

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