“There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’” Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. (I Kings 18:44-45)

Bill Johnson, leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California spoke last evening at the Revival Alliance Conference about what happened when he went back to his church after being at the Toronto Airport Vineyard in the early days of the Holy Spirit Outpouring known as the Toronto Blessing.

He had seen firsthand what happened in Toronto when whoever was leading the service offered this simple prayer: “Come, Holy Spirit.” Almost instantly, one would hear people crying or laughing and see them manifesting the power of the Holy Spirit in some form of bodily movement—shaking, vibrating, falling, running—to name a few.

Following his message that Sunday morning, Bill called up the entire congregation to the front of the church. He uttered the very same words in a sincere prayer: “Come, Holy Spirit.” Then he and his wife Beni waited for the visible and vocal responses to follow suit in great number among members of his own church.

Much to his surprise, only one person showed any visible sign that Holy Spirit had indeed come. Rather than being discouraged by the less than anticipated response, he turned to Beni with great excitement and said something to this effect: “Hey, He’s here. Hallelujah!”

Bill then went on to say: “Some people only saw the cloud as small as a man’s hand. But we saw the Outpouring.”

He was referring, of course, to the incident in I Kings 18 where following the victory on Mount Carmel, Elijah first prophesied to Ahab: “I hear the sound of the abundance of rain.”You may recall that there had been a severe drought with no rain whatsoever for three years at the time he made this declaration.

Then Elijah gets his servant to check the horizon for signs of rain. He comes back with the report that he cannot see anything at all. The scenario is repeated six times. Still no sign. Finally, on the seventh attempt, the servant reports: “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!”

Immediately, Elijah dispatches the servant to King Ahab instructing him to hop in his chariot presto pronto and get going before the heavy rain impeded his journey.

Bill pointed out how the servant only saw a small cloud, while Elijah saw heavy rain. He went on to say how many people who have been praying and waiting for revival get discouraged when they do not see the mighty outpouring right away. They discount the small cloud as being insignificant.

Because of this attitude, they miss out on experiencing the heavy rain that follows.

Although Bill’s teaching was geared specifically toward revival, it is applicable to all of us as we advance towards our destiny, isn’t it? Yes, all of us would love to get there in one giant leap, but God often starts us off with one small step that barely makes a perceptible difference to the outcome we desire.

Do we see it as just a small step or do we see it as the precursor to the giant leap that we had always dreamed of?

When God gives us one teeny weeny win, do we see it as the first fruits of the mighty decisive victory that will follow or do we get discouraged by the smallness of it?

In Zechariah 4:10 we read this word of caution: “Do not despise these small beginnings.”

We would be wise to take this admonition to heart, wouldn’t we?

Dear DWOD friend, the next time you see the first sign of progress, you have a choice about how you view it—as just a small cloud or the beginning of heavy rain. What will it be?