What Do You Do When the Work Feels Too Big?

What Do You Do When the Work Feels Too Big?

In this week’s sermon, Pastor Bob opened with a personal story about facing what felt like an impossible amount of work. After moving to Mercer and beginning ministry at Bethany, he still had unfinished doctoral work waiting for him. The classes were done, the proposal was approved, but the biggest part remained: the research and writing.

And like many of us do when we face something overwhelming, he wondered, *Do I really need to do this? Is this really the right use of my time?*

That feeling is not unusual. We all face moments when the work ahead of us feels too big. Parenting can feel that way. Marriage can feel that way. School, work, grief, caring for others, rebuilding trust, trying to live faithfully, or trying to help someone we love see God more clearly—any of these can feel like more than we can handle.

That is very close to what God’s people were feeling in Haggai 2.

When the New Thing Looks Smaller Than the Old Thing

In Haggai’s time, the people of Israel were rebuilding the temple after it had been destroyed decades earlier. They had finally started the work again, but discouragement set in quickly.

Some of the older people remembered the previous temple. It had been beautiful, grand, and deeply meaningful to them. But this new version? It looked small. Simple. Disappointing.

In fact, when the foundation was laid, some people celebrated—but others cried. Not happy tears. They were grieving what had been lost.

That is a deeply human moment.

Sometimes when we are trying to rebuild, we cannot help comparing the present to the past.

We remember when life felt easier.  
When our family felt more whole.  
When faith felt simpler.  
When churches seemed fuller.  
When the future felt more hopeful.  
When grief was not so heavy.  
When God seemed easier to see.

And then we look at what is in front of us and wonder, *Is this it? Is this really what God is doing?*

God Does Not Dismiss Their Discouragement

One of the striking things in Haggai 2 is that God does not shame the people for feeling discouraged. He does not pretend the new temple looks just like the old one. He acknowledges the reality.

The work really did look unimpressive compared to what had come before.

But then God says something important:

“Be strong… Work, for I am with you.”

That is the center of the message.

God does not say, “Be strong because you are capable of handling everything.”  
He does not say, “Be strong because this will look impressive soon.”  
He does not even say, “Be strong because everyone will understand what I’m doing.”

He says, “Be strong… for I am with you.”

That is where strength comes from—not from perfect circumstances, not from visible success, not from having the whole plan figured out, but from God’s presence.

Faithfulness Is Not Always Flashy

Pastor Bob reminded us that God does not always call us to something bigger, louder, or more impressive. Sometimes faithfulness looks small.

It can look like loving your children well.  
Showing up for your spouse.  
Doing honest work.  
Studying when you would rather quit.  
Praying for someone who still seems uninterested in God.  
Serving someone who may never thank you.  
Taking one more step when you feel worn down.

Those things may not look dramatic. They may not feel like “big spiritual moments.” But they matter.

The people in Haggai’s day were called to keep building even when the building did not look like much. And we are often called to keep going even when we cannot see what God is making out of it.

God’s Plan Is Bigger Than What We Can See

God gave the people a promise: the glory of this later temple would be greater than the former one. At first glance, that may have sounded confusing. How could this smaller, less impressive temple have greater glory?

Pastor Bob pointed us to Jesus.

Centuries later, Jesus entered the temple. And more than that, Jesus described His own body as the true temple—the place where God’s presence meets humanity. The greater glory was not ultimately about gold, size, architecture, or national pride. It was about God coming near in Jesus.

That matters for us because it reminds us that God is often doing more than we can see in the moment.

The people rebuilding the temple could not fully understand how their work fit into God’s larger plan. They only had a piece of the picture. But God was working through their faithfulness in ways that reached far beyond them.

The same is true for us.

You may not know what God is doing through your prayers, your service, your grief, your conversations, your endurance, or your ordinary acts of faithfulness. But that does not mean He is absent.

When You Feel Like Giving Up

Many of us know what it is like to feel low in spirit.

Maybe you have been praying for someone for years and nothing seems to change.  
Maybe you look at the world and feel like things are only getting darker.  
Maybe you miss what life used to be.  
Maybe you are grieving someone you loved.  
Maybe you are trying to obey God, but the work feels exhausting.

Haggai 2 speaks into that place.

Be strong.  
Keep working.  
God is with you.  
His Spirit is still present.  
His plan is bigger than what you can see.

That does not mean life becomes easy. It does not mean grief disappears or the work suddenly feels light. But it does mean we are not left to carry it alone.

Strength for Today

At the end of the sermon, Pastor Bob pointed to Paul’s words in Philippians 4. Paul says he had learned how to live with plenty and how to live with need. He had experienced highs and lows, abundance and hardship. And then he says:

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

That verse is not about achieving whatever dream we set our minds to. It is about receiving strength from God to remain faithful in every circumstance.

When the work feels too big, when the results look too small, when the future feels unclear, God’s invitation is not to pretend everything is fine.

His invitation is to trust Him, rely on His strength, and take the next faithful step.

Because He is with us.

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Scriptures Referenced

- Haggai 2:1-9  
- Haggai 2:21-22  
- Ezra 3:12  
- Joshua 1:8-9  
- Zechariah 4:6  
- Ephesians 6:10  
- John 17  
- 1 Corinthians 3:16  
- Romans 8  
- Romans 8:28  
- Hebrews 12:26-27  
- John 1:14  
- Luke 1:35  
- Mark 9:2-3  
- 2 Peter 1:16-17  
- John 2:18-21  
- Ephesians 2:14  
- Philippians 4:11-13