“Waste of energy, mental distress, nervous worries, dog the steps of a man who is anxious about the future- cultivate the habit of living in day-tight compartments knowing that successful daily living starts early.”- Sir William Osler (1849-1919)
“Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.”- Thomas Carlyle
Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 16 of If by advising that one key to accomplishing your what if is to break it down into manageable and measurable steps. “A goal,” he adds, ” is a dream with a deadline.”
Pastor Batterson can almost guarantee that no matter what your what if is, it will take longer than you imagined and be harder than you thought it would be. But it is this difficulty that makes accomplishing your goal more fulfilling. The longer you “wait for it” is part of the process ensuring that success doesn’t lead to failure. Success can lead to failure if “your gifts take you farther than your character can sustain them,” Mark explains. There is an upside to what we perceive as a downside.
The length of time it takes to accomplish your what if is directly proportional to the probability that your what if will stand the test of time. In other words, Mark states, it takes time to stand the test of time. That is true of every what if. Pastor Batterson concludes:
“What if takes time. Then it takes even more time! But nothing is more inspiring than a long obedience in the same direction.”
Consider one of the most hopeful statements in all of Scripture. That statement is repeated 486 times in the King James Version: And it came to pass.
Today’s question (from Pastor Batterson): What if you started living in day-tight compartments? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Narrow framing”
