Imagine yourself getting ready to start a race. For some of you, this may be very easy because you participate in athletic races all the time or watch them on tv. For others, this might be a little more difficult. So I am going to try to paint a picture in your head.
Months before your race, you decide to sign up. You learn all the specific of the race at this time. Things like how long it’s going to be. What day and time it’s happening. Maybe suggestions how to prepare. A section to get all of your questions answered. You’ve signed up and begin to understand your next steps.
Now you know what you need to do to get ready. You begin to train. Starting small and slowly increasing the length and speed while training. You do this everyday, with a few rest days, until the time comes.
Then during the week leading up to the big day, you make lists of what needs done. What you want to pack the day of. Strategies you want to use. Get your water and snacks ready. Communicate transportation to and from your race. You might even plan a gathering after your race to celebrate the accomplishment of finishing your race. The night before, you feel all set for your race the next morning and go to sleep.
The morning comes. Your alarm clock buzzes and you shoot up excited for your race. You get dressed in your gear. Eat a power breakfast to give you all the energy needed to finish your race. You’re excited because you’ve been training. You feel prepared. You know exactly how everything is going to go. You are ready and all set for this race. You get in the car and go.
Finally you arrive at your race site. Last minute preparations get done. You check in. Get your race number. Take your last sips of water and go to the bathroom on last time. You switch to your race shoes and head to the start line. You get all set up. Then you hear the words…
Ready… Set… Go!!!
You burst off into the moment to see if all your hard work and preparation was worth it.
Now that this picture has been painted in your mind, I have a question for you.
What if this was all backwards?
What if you went right into the race because you knew you had and wanted to go before thinking of how to become set to accomplish it? What if you didn’t think and worry about everything you had to get done in order to be set to go? What if you didn’t stress about being ready before you were in a position to be set?
This way of thinking was brought up in an conversation with a mother I babysit for. She said she was reading a daily devotion (the name I cannot remember so apologizes for that!) and it brought up the idea of having the mindset of “Go. Set. Ready.” instead of “Ready. Set. Go.” I know it’s a little confusing and hard to process, so this is what I think of it.
I think this means that God wants us to Go straight into whatever He is calling us to do. He wants us to trust Him no matter where He is calling us to go. And then once we have gone into what He wants us to do, He will then begin to prepare us in order to be Set for the full picture. He will work with where you are teaching and guiding you towards the next step. After that, you are finally Ready for what God had in store for you from the very beginning. You are there doing exactly what He called you to do.
Now yes, going into something without preparing yourself to be ready and set to go is scary. But if you ask me if you should be scared, I would tell you no. I would say no because of how mighty and powerful our God is. He gives you strength in every situation (Philippians 4:13). He will be with you every step of the way (Deuteronomy 31:6). He is going to be there for you if you trust in Him.
So with all of this being said, I encourage you to try to switch to this mindset. Try to trust in God and Go before you feel set and ready. Trust our great Father because He has so much in store for all of us.
Thanks for the longish read!! Comment if you have any questions, ideas, or stories to share! I love reading comments :):):)
With Love,
Paige 🙂
