Faithful to Begin

It’s easy to look at others and desire their status or possessions. The comparison game can produce either a positive or a negative effect. Comparison can cause you to become a jealous “hater” or it can be a motivator and spur you into action.

As easy as it is to become inspired by someone else’s success, it’s not as easy to work and obtain the same level of status. For example, many students want to obtain straight A’s, but they are not willing to sacrifice the parties, hanging out with friends, and other extracurricular activities to spend long hours studying and late nights in the library. People want to be out of debt, but still want certain comforts like shopping sprees, eating out, and watching cable which pulls discretionary dollars away from paying extra on debt.

Success does not arrive overnight; it takes hard work and consistency to achieve.

Before you can arrive at a particular goal or life position, you must make a step in that direction. The most important step in any achievement is the first step. With one step, a dream begins to manifest into a reality.

It is hard to see how one small step can manifest into a big change. For instance, you can lose weight by cutting out soda and sugary drinks, with no other diet modifications or exercise needed. That one minor change can make a big difference quickly. You can create extra savings if you save the change from every cash purchase. It may only look like a few coins in a jar, but coins make dollars. We can enjoy the bountiful end result, but we have to take the first small step to get there.

You have to begin!

Zechariah 4:10a (NIV)- Who dares despise the day of small things…

Job 8:7 (KJV)- Though the beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.

If we know the great potential of the end result, what keeps us from beginning?

There are numerous personal reasons why people have a hard time beginning the transformation of an idea into reality.  Some people want to know the whole plan from the beginning to the end before they get started. Sometimes God will reveal the plan in great detail as he did Noah with the specific instructions regarding the ark. He told Noah how to build the ark, what materials to use, and who should get on the ark once the build was complete. On the other hand, He told Abraham to pack up and leave his family and familiar surroundings to embark on a journey “unto a land that I will show thee” (Genesis 12:1, KJV).

Sounds like destination unknown to me….

Both men had one thing in common – they trusted God for the outcome.

Some people are paralyzed from beginning because the dream is so big until they feel they don’t have the resources to bring it to fruition. God may have shown you a vision of a Christian school for children that you are supposed to build. You don’t have cash on hand for a building with a gym, teachers, nor textbooks for grades K-8 at the present time, but you can start by homeschooling 4 or 5 kindergarteners.

Once you begin what God has called you to do, you will find yourself in a position like Noah.

Genesis 6:8 (NIV) – But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

You may not have all of the resources in your hand, but God’s favor is the only currency you need.

His favor can open doors that would usually be shut and cause your path to be directed to people who will bless you with what you need. Before you know it, the small homeschool class that you began with will turn into a network of grade-specific homeschool teachers and eventually the private Christian school that God showed you in the vision.

Don’t shelve God’s blueprint because you don’t have the resources! Before you get defeated by a massive operating budget, try making a small step with God’s favor.

Finally, the major reason why people don’t ever start on what they are called to do is FEAR! Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of lack, fear of people and what they will say, fear of losing everything, fear of change, fear of rejection, fear of worthiness, fear of everything………….except the fear of God.

Hebrews 11:7 (NIV) – By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

We are afraid of everything and everybody, except God. If anything, we should be afraid of not doing what He called us to do. We should be afraid of procrastinating and missing His divine timing for the vision. We should fear the consequences of our decision to be disobedient. We should fear disappointing God.

This is the only fear that should be considered as you begin.

God is calling YOU to be a “Noah”!

Noah was called by God to become a trail blazer and a record breaker. Noah was going to build the first cruise ship. It would be the biggest boat ever seen and it would look different than every other boat that had ever been built.

God challenged everything that Noah knew to give him a concept that had never been seen before. Noah didn’t know when his ark was going to “blow up” or “go viral”. He had no idea when the rain would begin. He had only a small inkling of the significance his personal instruction would contribute to the course of history. Not only would every person and creature on the ark be saved from the flood, Noah would also find a place in the “Hall of Faith”.

In this new year and season, God is calling us to build “arks.” He is changing the paradigm and the method. Noah’s ark did not look like any other boat.

If you build a boat according to what you know as a boat, you will build too small. You will build within a box of previous experience and personal boundaries. Your new venture will simply be a reflection of your current comfort zone.

Isaiah 42:9 (KJV) – Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Like Noah, God is calling us to build a new thing, something ingenious, out of the box, innovative, and brand new.  However, we can’t study what already exists and research someone else’s empire and design too long.

God is ready to give us new blueprints for the new “ark” that He wants to build.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NIV)- The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

What an awesome promise! It’s better than a money back guarantee! This one promise removes the burden from you to provide the successful outcome. All you have to do is be faithful to the call and begin. God will do the rest! He is there to teach you to fly and catch you when you fall.

There is no failure in God! 

What is God calling you to begin in 2019?

Whether it’s a business or a blog, a ministry or a non-profit organization, a product or a service, a lifestyle change or a lifetime savings, start today by asking God for the blueprint. Be satisfied if He only gives you one step. Work those one or two steps until He releases more directions. Be faithful over the small steps, the few things, and He will make you ruler over many (Matthew 25:21).

Just be faithful to begin!

*Read more about the life of Noah in Genesis, Chapters 6-8.