In his poem It Couldn’t Be Done, Edgar Guest (1881-1959) wrote:
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
We are in the middle of week three of this new year, and most have already abandoned any resolution made on or before the first day. Proposed changes have faded. Life difficulties have regained control. Enthusiasm has retreated into comfortable, old normal. The worn out ancient excuse, ‘it can’t be done’ has triumphed again. That is life in exile between intention and achievement. Desire versus action. Can versus can’t. Will versus won’t.
In the New Testament, James 1:22-25 addresses the heart of this issue. If you want to change your life, you must do more than merely listen to a message, a challenge, to change. Hearing is good. Hearing that it is possible encourages the change. But change is the result of action. Even the biblical message of transformation will not happen by mere osmosis. The instructions must be received and practiced in real, everyday life.
Listen and Act
Change always begins by hearing. We hear an inspiring message of possibility. It inspires us to examine who we are, what we want. We see the need to change. We resolve that this will be the year. We may even take the next step and plan a change strategy. Then we get distracted by other important issues of life. We intend to come back to our strategy. We stop seeing the need. Our hearing is overwhelmed by the cacophony of life’s realities. We heard but didn’t listen.
We heard that change is possible. We didn’t truly listen to the fact that it occurs through a consistent series of small steps. Yes, we took that first small step. It was the second step that seemed bigger, more difficult. We looked away from our desire, deceived by the difficulty of consistency. We forgot that resolution without action, hearing without doing, is self-deception. More importantly, we forgot the well-used, ancient wisdom that Rome was built one stone at a time. And blessings of achievement come to those who take small steps, and keep stepping.
Hear: Jesus said, “If you do not doubt but believe that you will receive what you ask for, it will be yours” (Mark 11:23-24). This is in context with having faith in God and removing obstacles.
Listen: “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17, 20, 26). This is in context that action is evidence of authentic faith.
The Significance of Little Changes
We despise small actions. They seem insignificant to our grandiose dreams and plans. We want ‘one giant leap for mankind’ and be done with it. Yet, putting a man on the moon began with a big dream, but was achieved with millions of small steps. Even US President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), who inspired us with the dream, didn’t live to see it become the reality. But he took the first small step to cast the vision.
In Zechariah 4:10, the prophet teaches us to not underestimate small beginnings. He shows that God is pleased with consistent small efforts, even if they appear insignificant. Be assured that they will increase into a great achievement producing great rejoicing.
In the Gospel of Luke 16:10, Jesus taught us that faithfulness in small responsibilities produce greater opportunity and responsibility. Wanting huge, dramatic results immediately is the enemy of consistent, follow-through actions. Listen, achieving effective transformation requires the compound effect of small, seemingly insignificant steps of change over time.
The Difference
In his book The Compound Effect, author Darren Hardy writes, “Little, everyday decisions will take you either to the life you desire or to disaster by default.” Plant your mustard seed for change and water it daily with faithful, consistent actions. Civilization began with one man and one woman. Christ feeding five thousand began with these steps: recognizing the people were hungry, asking how to feed them, identifying what food was available, asking them to sit on the grass, organizing food distributors, prayer of thanksgiving for the two fish and five loaves, breaking the food into pieces, giving it to the distributors, handing out the pieces to the individuals, continuing to break food, give pieces to distributors, and hand out pieces to individuals until the five thousand were all fed and satisfied. And the final step was to gather the leftovers and rejoice in the blessing of success.
Remember your foundation, from our earlier discussion. Who you serve matters. Don’t lose your focus. Don’t restart, just continue from where you are. Set goals that wisely consider your skill and ability, not goals to stroke your ego. And never give up for lack of immediate results. Pride and feelings are fickle. Faithfulness is steadfast. Measure success by your faithfulness. Measure faithfulness, not perfection.
Commit to a single, small action step today. Remember, in his Letter to the Philippians 1:6 Apostle Paul affirmed, “I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ Jesus.”
So, the choice is hearer or doer. Which are you? Your New Year choices, your decisions, just need follow-through, supporting actions.
Edgar Guest ends his poem with this affirmation:
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That ‘cannot be done,’ and you’ll do it.
Be inspired and motivated by the possibilities, but take the single step each day that will eventually complete the journey of a thousand miles.