Several years ago, I had the opportunity to walk atop an ancient aqueduct in Israel. It had been constructed by the Romans well before the time of Christ. Although not in use, it appeared as solid as the day it was put into service. What causes some things to endure and others to disappear? What causes some ministries to suddenly appear and almost immediately dissipate into oblivion?
I am sure you know the fable about the tortoise and the hare. The lumbering, methodical tortoise reached the finish line ahead of the rabbit, who seemed, in the story, to suffer from severe ADHD. The moral of the myth has become a byword for the ages: "Slow and steady wins the race."
As ministers in a world that champions instant gratification and glorifies relentless speed, we need a gentle and constant reminder that 'storm-proof' houses are built on rock foundations. They are neither instantaneous nor mass-produced. Each of us is a 'masterpiece' crafted and shaped into position over significant time. We should not become frustrated with seemingly small increments of progress. The important issue is that they are all aimed in a progressive direction.
There are times when we are tempted to look at the achievements of others, despairing of our own, which appear, by comparison, to be inferior. The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:12 describes the folly of such an exercise, indicating that such comparisons cause us to impulsively reach out to grasp something our maturity level is not ready to receive and process.
I love to hear the stories of the great heroes of the faith whose achievements seem gargantuan beside my own. However, none of them were born as heroes, nor did they become heroes by happenstance. Who they were and what they accomplished happened in small and steady steps in a predetermined direction toward a specific goal. Looking into the biographical records of Christian champions, one discovers a commonality: their life and ministry was built slowly, steadily and wisely. Nothing of lasting value is constructed out of rush and panic. There are no microwave heroes.
We are on a lengthy pilgrimage. The quality of each 'next' step depends upon the integrity of the last one we took. The secret is staying the course. God's Word will consistently light the way, and the Holy Spirit will provide the spiritual GPS coordinates needed to keep us ever-inching forward. Even missteps and mistakes, owned and confessed, become part and parcel of positive spiritual progress. Nothing is wasted when yielded to God. It all goes into the construct. Yahweh is a redeeming God.
A dream may be audacious. A conviction may be firm and seem urgent. The compulsion may be to rush ahead, attempting to make things happen. But the journey to fulfillment in life and ministry will be slow and, at times, even ponderous. What separates the 'flash-in-the-pan' Christian star from the legitimate Christian hero is the stability of the foundation, the quality of the building material, and the immediacy of obedience to the Word and the Spirit, executed with enough patience to see the project through to the end.
Here are a few thoughts to keep us in the race. "Do not despise the day of small beginnings," writes the Prophet Zechariah (4:10).
Discover God's Dream for your Life and Ministry. God has a dream for everyone. It may be frightening, intimidating, or even impossible. But God will not assign a dream to a person without guaranteeing a pathway to its ultimate fulfillment. It is too small if a dream can be realized apart from God.
Count the Cost. No dream is ever realized without sacrifice, toil, and pain. Dropouts are those who have not reckoned with this reality. Knowing the cost of the dream's fulfillment prepares a person to either accept or reject that cost. For the Christian leader, the cost is 'everything.' The currency is absolute surrender to the direction of the Holy Spirit every day. It is a lifetime of cost. Jesus made that clear. "If you love your life, you will lose it; if you lay down your life for the sake of the gospel, you will find it."
Take the First Step. God may give glimpses of the dream's fulfillment, but He never rushes us into it or gives us the blueprint in one download. In 2012, I stood with global worker Elmer Komant at the top of a hill in Kigali, Rwanda. Below us were 17.5 acres of beautiful, developed land: a vast ministry complex. I looked at a completely modern educational wing (the envy of the Nation), a lovely multi-functional church building, a wellness centre, a host dormitory, and an amazing prayer garden (occupied in every daylight hour) all set amidst natural beauty. In 1998, the Komants heard the call to go to the Nation which was suffering the indescribable results of genocide. The only instruction Elmer and Sherry had received from the Lord was to buy a tent and start an English-speaking church in a French-colonized Nation. As impractical and unusual as it was, they obeyed. Looking at what God had done, I asked Elmer, "Had God shown you this completed complex at the beginning, you would have despaired, and you would have turned away from it." It had been 14 years of steady, small steps of obedience against all odds. It started by placing an order for a giant tent by faith. There is no second revealed step in God's dream for life until the first one is taken. There are no shortcuts, no alternative routes. One only enters the promises of God through obedience. Obedience is simply following the instructions God gives as He gives them.
Never Give Up. It was Winston Churchill, rallying the British people in the face of seemingly impossible odds in the early days of the Second World War, who made the following statement, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the overwhelming might of the enemy."
The Apostle Paul says it this way: Don't be weary in well doing for in due time you will reap if you do not faint. (Galatians 6:9)
Will there be setbacks? Most assuredly. Will there be disappointments? Guaranteed! Will there be weariness of body, soul, and mind? It's part of the quest. But in the end, there is the accomplishment of the God-placed, God-sized dream, and sufficient rewards spur us along the pilgrimage.
Like the tortoise in the famous fable, winning the race against the speedy hare through persistence and patience, we can achieve our God-given dreams through the power at work within us.
Rather than being discouraged by the apparent slowness of our efforts, let's focus on the consistency of our actions and the steady momentum built by our obedience over time.
We lay a solid foundation for long-term success by taking small, certain steps. Each day will present opportunities and choices as we move closer to our goal. As we continue the steady, focused pace, a bit more of the character of Christ will progressively be etched in our spirit.
Let's embrace the wisdom of "slow and steady," the primacy of God's Word, and the principle of immediate obedience to the Holy Spirit as we navigate the twists and turns of life's journey, knowing that, with patient and persistent obedience, the end will be greater than anything we were able to think or imagine when we began.
Al is an experienced pastor and counselor who works out of our ABNWT District Resource Centre in Edmonton as the Pastoral Care Coordinator. A pastor to the pastors, Al is a friend, mentor, and confidante to all.