No one’s first sermon was great. No one’s first blog post was a hit. No one’s first video was not awkward. We all start from the bottom. T.D Jakes didn’t just show up one day and preach the way he preaches. There was a process He had to go through, just like all of us. Steve Jobs’s first product wasn’t the iPhone. We usually see the end results and highlight reels, but fail to realize there were years of showing up and putting in practice we don’t see. We don’t see the thousands of failed attempts, the times of wanting to give up, and the pressure to just settle for less.
“The 10,000-hour rule was invented by Malcolm Gladwell who stated that, ‘Researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: 10,000 hours” as stated in this article.
This is a hard pill to swallow for a microwave generation that wants overnight success. The problem with getting overnight success is when it happens, many cannot handle the weight of it because of the lack of preparation and rootedness.
Even Jesus waited 30 years until he did his first miracle. We don’t even have a record of what he spent his time doing in those 30 years, but I can bet you it was far from glamorous. Just take a look at the life of David, he spent years as a shepherd out in the field before he ever became king.
There is a process to everything, but we should not despise the small beginnings. “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” – Zephaniah 4:10
Everything starts small, and the key to not getting defeated in the process is to stay in your lane and don’t compare to the success of others, rather look at it as a picture of where you are heading. The worst thing we can do for our churches and businesses is compared them to those who we feel are “more successful”
God has every one of us in our own process, and sometimes it takes longer than we expected. But when you keep plowing, keep praying, and keep putting in those hours, you can expect growth to happen.
