“We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.” – Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), 30th President of the USA.
Doing
There’s a piece of prose that’s been around for a while, about some of the characters in the Bible that God used: ‘Abraham was old, and Jacob was insecure, Leah was unattractive, Joseph was abused as a young man, Moses stuttered, and Gideon was poor, and Rahab was immoral, and David had an affair and all kinds of family problems, Elijah was suicidal, and Jeremiah had depression, and Jonah was reluctant ran away, Naomi was a widow, and John the Baptist was eccentric to say the least, Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered, and Martha worried a lot, and Zacchaeus was unpopular, Thomas had doubts, and Paul had poor health, and Timothy was timid…’ That’s quite a variety of misfits! But God used each of them in his service. He’s ready to use you, too!
Doing not Wishing: In the film Evan Almighty, God (played by Morgan Freeman) decides to give Congressman Evan Baxter a real chance to live up to his campaign slogan, ‘Change the World’, by telling Evan that he has to build an ark, just like the one Noah built, as there is going to be a huge flood coming. Evan builds the ark, but the pressures of the task take their toll on his family life. In one scene from the film, Evan’s wife is sitting in a restaurant and calls over the waiter – who just happens to be ‘God’, though of course she isn’t aware of this. She and God get into a conversation about the ‘ridiculous’ boat-building scheme that Evan is convinced God has asked him to do. His wife doesn’t get it but ‘God’ has a different take on the situation:
“If someone prays for patience, do you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If they pray for courage, does God give them courage or does he give them the opportunity to be courageous? If someone prayed for their family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings? Or does he give them the opportunities to love each other?”
Source: Different Eyes: The Art Of Living Beautifully by S. Chalke and A. Mann, p.65-66
Noah didn’t sit around waiting for his ship to come in; he set to work and built it.
One preacher put it like this: ‘It may come as a bit of a surprise but God is waiting for you and depending on you to do his work. He is depending on you to be generous with your time and abilities and money for others. He is depending on you to give of your time and resources in order to help the person in need. He is depending on you to spend time with the sick and the lonely. He is depending on you to use your money so that others may come to know Christ. And He is depending on you to use your abilities in the ministry of our local congregation. God is depending on you to bring his love to others.’
Success Is In The Doing, Not Waiting Around
Some time ago a local art teacher found himself in charge of a pottery class. The tutor had to grade the students and so he split the class into two equal groups.
The first group were instructed to create as many items of pottery as they could within a set time period. The students were told that they would then be marked depending upon the quantity of items they were able to produce.
The second group were told to concentrate on creating just one piece. They were instructed to produce an item of their choice, but it was to be as near to perfect as possible, and they would be judged and marked according to the quality of their work.
The end result was very telling. The first group immediately set to and turned out piece after piece, each one improving as they went along. The second group, however, pondered for a long while, waiting for ‘creative inspiration’ and to get the ‘feel’ for the clay. Alas, before they knew it, time ran out with the second group having barely made a start. The result: still a lifeless lump of clay.
The moral here is this: If you sit around waiting for inspiration, or waiting for the right time or opportunity, or until everything is just so before you begin, then you will end up being disappointed. Remember, success comes in the doing, not in the waiting around.
“People who want milk should not seat themselves on a stool in the middle of a field in hope that a cow will back up to them.”
Elbert Hubbard, writer
Two neighbours, Donald and Mickey, were fishing in the mountain lakes, when they spotted a big grizzly bear, foraging for food nearby. No sooner had they seen it, the grizzly also seemed to notice them and with a mean look on its face the bear began to approach slowly. “Look at that bear,” said Donald, “I wonder if it means to eat us?” Mickey, who was somewhat of a know it all, replied, “Well, bears are carnivorous and they’ve been known to attack the odd fisherman or two and also people who startle them! They can run at speeds of up to 30 miles an hour over short distances, so there’s no way we can out run it. The only thing in our favour right now is that bears have very poor eyesight. So our best line of defence is to stay perfectly still and quiet and then hopefully, he will pass us by.” With that, Donald, who was highly motivated not to be eaten alive, opened his back pack, took out his running shoes and began putting them on. “What are you doing that for?” said Mickey, “I have told you there is no way you can outrun a bear!” Unperturbed, Donald continued doing up his trainers. Then, as he turned to make his escape, he answered, “The way I see it Mickey, I don’t have to outrun the bear. All I have to do is outrun you!”
And the moral of this little tale is simply this; don’t mope about waiting for things to get better by themselves, instead take action and do something about it now. Just do it!
R. Ian Seymour, excerpt from Maximise Your Potential
‘Sermons We See’
I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.
The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear.
For I might misunderstand you and the high advice you give,
But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
Edgar A. Guest
This is a story about four people, named
Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody
was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job.
Everybody thought Anybody could do it,
but Nobody realised that Everybody wouldn’t do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody,
when Nobody did what Anybody could have done!
Anon
“You don’t have to be able to see the whole staircase just to take the first step.”
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), civil rights leader
Christianity is a verb before it’s a noun. Let’s not get confused: there are times when a human being should be a human doing!
“God gives us the ingredients for our daily bread, but he expects us to do the baking.”
William A. Ward
“There are few things harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.”
Mark Twain (1835-1910), novelist and humourist
“The problem in my life and other people’s lives is not the absence of knowing what to do, but the absence of doing it!”
Peter F. Drucker, author and management expert
Sometimes the best policy is Ready – Fire – Aim
“Do what you have to do as quickly as you can so that you can do what you want to do as long as you can.” – Jim Rohn
Some people daydream of achieving success others stay awake and do it.
The rooster crows but it’s the hen that actually delivers the goods.
Seeing the sorry state the world was in, a man shouted his complaint to God: “Even I could make a better world than this!” Then in his heart the man heard the still, quiet voice of God reply: “That is exactly what you are supposed to do.”
When it was trendy for people to say, “May the force be with you,” I would say, “The force is within you. Force yourself!”
Harrison Ford, actor
Stop stewing and start doing. Stop yakking and start cracking!
There ain’t no such thing as coulda, shoulda and woulda because if you shoulda and coulda you woulda already done it.
Pat Riley, US basketball coach and author
Too much analysis causes paralysis.
The hardest part of doing anything is actually getting started!
Visiting the past or the future is fun to do, but be careful not to take up residence in either place.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Confucius (551-479 B.C.) ancient Chinese philosopher and teacher
“The best start for a good day’s work is to be up and at it with the first hours of the morning.”
John Wanamaker (1838-1922), pioneer of the department store
You don’t have to be great to start but you have to start to be great.
It’s the start that stops most people.
“I am only one. I cannot do everything; but I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”
Edward Everette Hale (1822-1909), clergyman and author
If you don’t make dust, you eat dust!
“Call on God, but row away from the rocks.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), American poet and essayist.
A very religious man was once caught in rising floodwaters. He climbed onto the roof of his house and trusted God to rescue him. A neighbour came by in a canoe and said, “The waters will soon be above your house. Hop in and we’ll paddle to safety.”
“No thanks” replied the religious man. “I’ve prayed to God and I’m sure he will save me”
A short time later the police came by in a boat. “The waters will soon be above your house. Hop in and we’ll take you to safety.”
“No thanks” replied the religious man. “I’ve prayed to God and I’m sure he will save me”
A little time later a rescue services helicopter hovered overhead, let down a rope ladder and said. “The waters will soon be above your house. Climb the ladder and we’ll fly you to safety.”
“No thanks” replied the religious man. “I’ve prayed to God and I’m sure he will save me”
All this time the floodwaters continued to rise, until soon they reached above the roof and the religious man drowned. When he arrived at heaven he demanded an audience with God. Ushered into God’s throne room he said, “Lord, why am I here in heaven? I prayed for you to save me, I trusted you to save me from that flood.”
“Yes you did my child” replied the Lord. “And I sent you a canoe, a boat and a helicopter. But you never got in.”
Someday is not a day of the week.
“Things that are easy to do are also easy not to do.”
Jim Rohn
Plant don’t chant
Don’t delay, either Do it, Delegate it or Ditch it!
Stop Making Excuses… If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were chocolate and nuts, we’d all have a happy Christmas.
Life is like riding a bicycle; if you want to keep moving you have got to keep pedalling. Of course, it’s okay to free-wheel occasionally but keep that up for too long and you’ll end up falling off.
Illustration – doing more: Take a bucket and have a volunteer fill the bowl with large pebbles until it is full. Ask, can we fit anymore in. (Answer no.) Then have a volunteer fill the gaps with small pebbles until the bucket is full once again. Ask, can we fit anymore in. (Answer no.) Then have a volunteer fill the gaps with sand until the bucket is full to overflowing. Ask, can we fit anymore in. (Answer no.) Then have a volunteer fill the bucket with water until it is full. Now it’s full. Finally throw in a cup of coffee… “My wife says there is always room for coffee with a friend.”