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Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices when the work begins. Zachariah 4:10

When do you know you’re ready to do something, to start something? When do you know that it won’t be hard or that it won’t end in failure? The answer is that in the natural, you don’t. If you spend your entire life trying to avoid failure, you will never do anything great for God. The cure for failure isn’t success but failing in small enough doses that you become immune to it. A good lesson in sales training is to make 100 cold calls in one day. Will everyone buy what you’re selling? No. But you are learning to fail in small doses until you’re not afraid to fail anymore. In fact, if God calls you to do something, chances are it will be bigger than you feel comfortable with. The temptation will be to sit back and wait… Wait for all your funding, wait until you are a great public speaker, and wait to start getting in shape. (The list goes on) I remember I wanted to get back into shape after I had my fourth baby (Who was 10.5lbs at birth, by the way). I went to the gym a few times, but guess what? It was hard, and I didn’t see immediate results, and I hated seeing my baby weight in the mirror staring back at me.

The hardest thing to do sometimes is to start and keep going when it seems like you are moving forward at a snail's pace. But do it; just start! Sometimes faith is taking the first step without seeing the second. Sometimes faith is committing to keeping going even when you feel like there is a huge gap between where you are and where you want to be. The Bible says the Lord rejoices when you start! The fact that you are even willing to start is a step of faith! You are giving God something to work with!

So today, maybe you’re waiting for God to do something — and God is actually waiting for you to start! So go for it! Act like you know you won’t fail because you serve a God who uses all things and turns everything around for our good. So, if you fail, God will turn it into something better! Have faith, get going, and see what God does through you!

joie miller