This verse of scripture underlines one of my earliest lessons about success, the fact that things happen not at once but “little by little.” It has taught me not to hurry unduly for results. The world is experiencing increasing cases of mental health problems. This may not be unconnected to how people subject themselves to pressure to perform. Moses employed the book of Deuteronomy to outline certain landmarks in the history of God’s people. He also outlined some administrative structures for the young nation as they tried to make sense of life in the wilderness. In our text, we have what can be described as divine principle of conquest. The leader informed them that God would drive out the nations before Israel, so that they would be empowered to conquer them. However, the conquest would come in stages and not in one fell swoop. God would give them the land in sequence as was necessary to support their population.

When you choose to adopt the “little by little” approach to life, you protect your mental health.

This principle is applicable today. When we receive a major promise from God, we must never forget to approach it with cautious optimism. The same is true for our ideas and projects. Thinking that we can grab all the fullness of the promise at a time or pull off a gigantic project at once might lead us to a life of anxiety. We might find ourselves spent at the end of the day and never truly enjoy the benefit. God set in motion the principle of conquest at creation. Being the Almighty with unlimited power and resources, it is within reason to say that He had all that was necessary to create everything in a single day; but He laid out His work over a period of time; achieving one bit at a time. When you choose to adopt the “little by little” approach to life, you protect your mental health.