Keep Going

I have heard about God’s timing versus our timing.

I have also heard about waiting on the Lord.

But I have also heard about taking the bull by the horns.

There have been times in my life where I have pushed issues and personal agendas, like a desperate salesman trying for a close at any cost, leaving no space for serendipity or an organic interaction.

There’s also something about trusting God while keeping our hand on the plow.

Now we’re getting somewhere.

I think the balance lies in taking action and doing the work while trusting God for the outcome.

I believe in the power of intention, of setting goals without dwelling on what author Mike Dooley calls the “cursed hows.”

If we are moving toward a worthy goal or ideal, it seems silly to get mired in the “what-ifs.”

How many times have we short-circuited our intentions by second-guessing and catastrophizing?

How many times have we thrown up our hands in self-imposed defeat because things haven’t been moving as fast as we expected them to?

It’s like Russell Conwell’s “Acres of Diamonds” or Napoleon Hill’s “Three Feet from Gold” story – both of which indicate that one might not have to go far afield to find riches. They may, in fact, be right under one’s nose.

Keep going. Never mind the self-doubt. Acknowledge it if you must, kind of like, “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). I’s OK to admit our confidence might be flagging.

Maybe you should go eat something or take a nap.

Then get back to work.

But remember this: If you give up, somebody else is going to hit the mother lode just feet from where you stopped digging. Somebody will find the “interesting rock” you found in a stream and put on your mantel after you sold your house and see it for the diamond that it is.

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• Acres of Diamonds
• Mike Dooley
• Motivation
• Napoleon Hill
• Perseverance
• Russell Conwell
• Three Feet from Gold