Starting Is The Hardest Thing

I like to be prepared. I consider every possible outcome before I enter any opportunity. I make sure I have all the needed supplies. If I do not have the skills or resume to be qualified, I take myself out of the running; I don’t even try. I let my assumptions run the show more than trusting the skills and abilities that I possess. If it doesn’t seem possible I do not try. If anything looks out of my control, I stay put till it is, and by then the opportunity is usually gone. This is my survivor mode in the unknown. I am a frozen statue of endless possibilities that requires a full analysis of the situation, before the thaw. 

“Then David said, ‘The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine. Saul said to David, ‘Go and may the Lord be with you.’” 1 Samuel 17:37

In 1 Samuel 17, David leaves his sheep with a trusted pal and goes to the battle field to check on the brothers. He brings the equivalent of cheese sandwiches and assumes the responsibility of getting a report back to dad and heading back to his flock. But there was no simple lunch and trading of shepherding and war stories. I think there was lunch, because carbs + cheese is too good to ignore. David does bring the food, but he delivers Goliath the Philistine’s head on a platter. The shepherd boy becomes a war hero.  

How? How does this happen? The ordinary to extraordinary. Well shepherding is no easy task, God was preparing David for this moment. He was not stealing glances at the sheep while circling his thumbs on Instagram and texting his best friends. David had to not only lead his sheep, but protect them from predators. And those were no cute little critters, David was facing off against lions and bears…oh my! 

David was not physically weak, he was strong. He was mentally alert in dangerous situations. His heartbeat may have been vibrating in his ears the whole time, but David did not hesitate to trust God with his life and the sheep He gave David to protect. 

“Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor. David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off. Instead, he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.” 1 Samuel 17:38-40

Yes, David was young.

Yes, He was physically strong

Yes, He was mentally alert.

But what got him through lion face offs and gave him the bravery and confidence to defeat Goliath was his faith in God. He believed that if God could deliver him from bears and lions, He could deliver him from Goliath. No absolutes in place. No fancy plans of attack. David used what he was comfortable with, staff, stones, sling, and went before Goliath in full assurance that only with God could this defeat become a reality. 

David went. He started. He picked up his staff. He gathered his stones. Made sure he had his sling. He trusted God. One faithful and essentially ordinary step of obedience over the other. 

“The moment you take that first step, little seeds of courage begin to sprout in your heart.” Annie F. Downs

It may look strange to start what you have been given. It may look impossible. It may even feel like it. Your thing probably is impossible by normal standards, but with God nothing is impossible. He has been preparing you for this. He has led you through multiple situations in the past that hopefully are reminding you that He is faithful. He protects. He can bring victory. And even if what you start doesn’t slay, God will be there. 

David didn’t know that Goliath would be defeated all he knew for sure is that with God it was possible. The only assurance David had was that God could and even if He didn’t he would still be okay. He trusted God. 

To start is to trust. To move forward is to believe that God has made you and I brave and capable to move into what is before us, no matter what the outcome. 

Starting is hard. 

Trusting is hard.

But how will we see and experience the power of God if we do not take a step? 

- Hannah

I am taking the 100 Days to Brave Summer challenge with Annie F. Downs. Grab her devotional here and take the challenge and see what God can do with 100 days of your life.