One Foot in Front of the Other (Hard Beginnings)

Beginnings are rarely easy. There is a risk to run and a price to pay. You might feel vulnerable and afraid. What if it doesn’t work out like you hoped? What if you let everyone down? Is it worth the risk, or is it better to never try and never fail?

“Hard beginnings” are about starting new things and going in new directions, and they require resilience. If we don’t have the strength and wisdom to step out into the unknown, we’ll simply be carried along forever by our own inertia.

I think if we could see hard beginnings the way God does, we’d feel and act differently. He is outside of time, so he knows what’s coming—and he’s excited about it. He’s planning for it. God said through the prophet Isaiah, “I make known the end from the beginning” (46:10). He can see exactly what today’s small beginning is going to become in ten, twenty, or a hundred years, and that long-term perspective makes all the difference.

If you could foresee the return on today’s investment like he does, can you imagine how excited, inspired, and motivated you’d be to overcome obstacles?

If you’re struggling with a hard beginning in some area, try asking, “What could this look like in ten years?” You can’t fully answer that question, but at least it will get you thinking outside the small box of what your eyes can see today. What good results will come from your present actions? Who will benefit? What doors will it open? The potential is thrilling.

The future is in God’s hands, not yours, but he asks you to be faithful today to take that first step. Someday you’ll say, “I’m so glad I didn’t put that thing off. I was scared, but I started anyway. It was challenging, but I pushed through. It was hard work, but I persevered.”

The good news is that once you get things started, they often take on a life of their own. You’ll have to steer it and turn it and tweak it, but the hardest part is getting started.

So don’t let inertia define your life. You have to start somewhere, sometime, and somehow—why not today?

Heavenly Father, would you show me a beginning waiting for me, and strengthen me to take the first step and trust you with the journey? Amen.