This is the first of a series of blogs that are resurrected drafts that I either forgot to finish, lost inspiration for, or simply didn’t like. Since I have what seems all the time in the world, I thought this would be a great time to dust them off and bring them back to life. I started with the newest and am working my way to the oldest. I hope you enjoy.
“Now. Right now. Not later. No waiting. No hesitation. Push it and it should respond. Order it and it should be given. Ask and I should receive…immediately.”
We live in a world that expects faster and faster results. Whether it be the functionality of our mobile devices, fast food, texting someone, working out, investing money, building a business, and the list goes on. Immediate results are often expected. But it’s a lie. Or at least it’s a very rare occurrence. At least when it comes to things that truly matter.
Plant a seed and you don’t have results from that seed for many weeks, possibly months, or even years. Start working out and muscles don’t appear immediately. Even people don’t mature over night. It takes decades for a human being to mature physically; and for some it takes a lifetime to mature mentally and emotionally.
I get it. That’s why I fall prey to this line of thinking from time to time. I work with business owners who sometimes struggle with how long it can take to produce the results they want. I coach sports and deal with athletes who think they should be champions after a couple days, weeks, and months of practice. I know married people who think all should be bliss after the words “I do.”
It’s everywhere. But the truth is found between the words “reap” and “sow.” Those two words come from Galatians 6:7 that says we reap what we sow. Genesis 8:22 says,
“While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”
Pastor Tasha Bintliff said, “Starting is easy. It takes endurance to finish.”
There’s so much to this simple sentence. It reminds me of a concept I learned years ago:
Dream. Struggle. Victory.
Dream.
Carl Sandburg said, “Nothing happens unless first we dream.” That is the beginning of all accomplishments. We have some dream, goal, idea we want to accomplish. It’s exciting and fun. It’s like when you first start dating. There’s a nervous anticipation of great potential with the concerns of “what if this doesn’t work out.”
But it’s easy to begin. I can’t even fathom how many projects, jobs, blogs, books, etc. I’ve started but did not finish. It’s sad really. But as Bintliff’s saying begins, starting is easy.
Unfortunately we also fall into the trap of seeing other’s victories and either revel in them or revile them. Reality TV, sports, our own kids are all avenues we live vicariously in victories not our own. And of course we all have our villains (the Los Angeles, wait, Oakland, no, the Las Vegas Raiders…they need to make up their mind) who we love to see fall. But deep down we wish the victory was ours. I believe all human beings desire to be on top of the podium as the best in their field.
Struggle.
That leads us to the middle part. The struggle. The endurance. The grind. The time. Again, Genesis 8:22 says, and I paraphrase…
Seed…TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEE…harvest!
It’s not, plant a seed and boom there’s a harvest. It’s, plant a seed, water it, tend it, pull the weeds around it, fight off the birds, rodents, and various creatures that would eat it, protect it from cold, protect it from heat, and do all you can to help it produce the desired outcome over possibly months and months before there is ever a harvest.
I had this thought not too long ago that life is mostly struggle. Seldom are our lives are lived on top of the podium. The moment we have a victory, in any area, life goes on. There is always a next day. Champions are forgotten because life just keeps coming. Obstacles will always pop up. Even Jesus promised us trials, tribulations, and persecutions.
Yes. The struggle is real.
Perhaps that is why so few people ever achieve anything great. It’s like the quote by Joshua Metcalf,
Everyone wants to be great until it’s time to do what greatness requires.
Victory.
So what does greatness require? How do we get to the victory? Here’s the simple answer.
Get on the right course and stay the course.
The results will come. When you are putting in the right work with the right people for the right reasons using the right tools and making the right adjustments over time, the victory will come!
It’s a law! Seed. Time. Harvest! Dream. Struggle. Victory!
You will reap what you sow. If you are sowing the right things, you will reap the right things. So don’t stop sowing. God is not mocked. His word is true. What you put in you will get out. He is a rewarder (Hebrews 11:6). Matthew 24:13 (TPT) reads, “Keep your hope to the end and you will experience life and deliverance.”
There is a victory awaiting you if you choose to persevere to that moment. Don’t quit. Get better. Get your victory. Results will come!
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