Learning to Take a Step of Faith at Work

In review of Ecclesiastes 11:4 it says, “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.”

Bottom Line:

If you wait for things to be perfect, you’ll never get started.

What this means to me:

If I wait for conditions to be just right or wait for things to change, I’ll never end up moving forward or accomplishing things.

Rick Warren mentioned that In 2012 a world record was set when Felix Baumgartner took the highest leap ever attempted with a 24-mile-high free fall from space that broke the sound barrier. That seems like a giant step of faith!

At some point God will ask me to take a big step of faith as I do the things he created me to do. I’ll probably never be asked to take as big of a step as Baumgartner above, but it may feel like it when changing employment or where to live.

The Bible mentions in Ecclesiastes 11:4, “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done” (TLB).

Rick Warren also mentions his friend, Mark Burnett, who is one of the most successful television producer in Hollywood today. He’s got top shows across several networks and created hits like “Survivor,” “Celebrity Apprentice,” and “The Voice.” He’s also a devout Christian.

When Rick asked Mark about stepping out in faith with an idea or something new, he told him this: “The fact that you don’t know exactly what to do is OK. I have a philosophy I call ‘jump in,’ which says that those who need to know with 100 percent certainty before going forward won’t do anything. You won’t get married, and you certainly won’t change jobs or start a business. I think it’s OK to be 30, 40, or 50 percent sure and figure out the rest of it. The philosophy of ‘jump in’ means that even if you’re not sure you can swim, swim anyway.”

So, given this if I wait to solve all the problems before I start, I’ll never get started. This is much like parenting; nobody knows how to be a parent! The Children come, and then you figure it out as you go. Likewise, I need to take a step of faith at some point in order to move toward what God means for me to do.

There is no guarantee on this earth that I’m going to succeed at anything. However when I step out in faith, trusting in God and pursuing his work for me through my shape, he promises me this in Proverbs 16:3: “Commit your work to the Lord, then it will succeed.”

Today’s verse relates a lot to my work today and finding resources. I keep waiting to see what other candidates will come across, delaying my decisions. This delay has already affected me once with a resource taking another role by the time I came around to talking to them. While it’s important to wait, waiting too long or being paralyzed with fear about making a decision can be detrimental. I’ll just need to learn to consult with God more on my decisions at work and then move forward based on the promptings I receive from him.