You do realize that Step 1 doesn’t always work… yes? Step 1 is precisely that – the first step! Are you going to give up at the beginning? Even when that first step isn’t your best ‘first’… is the goal worth pursuing? While it may not be easy, will you learn from the lack of success of Step 1? If you believe that the Lord has called you to (fill in the blank) then if Step 1 is ‘wrong’, it’s a stumble. Stop. Take a look at what you are doing, HOW, seek the Lord’s direction, and then develop your strategy. Personally I’ve never seen only a first step… but I could be in error.
This is seemingly always a time of ‘rubber meeting the road’ and little time to logically assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. ACT is what’s needed! Really? Do you want to compound the original ‘wrong’ step? There are many ways of saying, ‘now what’? You’ve exhausted your resources, and your ‘favors’, your energy, all that you think you have… what now? Obviously, we all tend to try and still do (fill the blank) on our own to prove to ourselves as well as others that ‘we’ve got this’. What happens when we really don’t have ‘it’? Or we start with a flourish and then peter out because we are trying to do ‘it’ on our own. Why do we seem to be so intent on proving our worth, ability… and to whom?
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5, AMP)
Actually… read the entire chapter (15) until it becomes a foundation for you, until you know with that deep and confident knowing what should be our mindset, our first thought. Following close on this is remembering: ‘if the Lord calls you to it, He will equip you for it..’. Doing ‘it’ solely on our own can admit disaster into the situation, and that need not be the case.
Step 1 does usher in the next step. Perhaps that’s the problem? You’ve got a great beginning but no middle, nothing leading to further success. Once started, is there a plan? Is there a continuance? Have you envisioned the entire process from start to finish?
“The steps of a [good and righteous] man are directed and established by the Lord, And He delights in his way [and blesses his path]. When he falls, he will not be hurled down, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand and sustains him.” (Psalm 32: 22-24, AMP)
If our beginning, our Step 1 begins with the Lord, then we see that our steps will be ordered. However, it is verse 24 that brings hope – the Lord holds our hand so even when we fall, we aren’t overcome. Step 1 may not be completely the ‘perfect’ first step, but if what we are doing is what the Lord is leading us in… then we know that there are further steps and that He is with us.
