How to be Consistent III

In the first part of this series, we took a look at being consistent and considered that the first area to focus on in attempting to live consistently will be to bridge the gap between what you know and what you truly believe. We established that your life begins to take shape soon after this gap is closed. In the second part, we discussed the importance of starting with what you have and from where you are, and letting God’s help meet you in action.

The next step then at living a consistent life will be to stick with what you are doing. I do not in any way mean that you cannot pivot into something else, but the truth is that many pivot too quickly because they lack the staying power to get things off the ground. When you don’t stay long enough with something, you may not even know whether pivoting is the right thing to do or not. Sometimes, it could be that you are supposed to pivot, but the time has not yet come for that pivot, and at other times it could be that you are not supposed to pivot at all.

One story that quickly comes to mind is the story of Kenneth E. Hagin, he had pastored for some years, and then he pivoted into field ministry. Although, God wanted him to go into field ministry, the time had not yet come for him to move at the time he first pivoted, and surely the experience wasn’t so great. In fact, he had to return to pastoring again for a few more years before finally God’s appointed time came, and this time he had to be sure it was time before he finally pivoted.

My point in giving this story is that many young people have only just set out on an assignment yesterday, perhaps in ministry or business, and because things are not yet working out as quickly as they had anticipated, they are already thinking of the next idea to jump on, when in reality they should be digging in and taking root in what they have set their hands upon to do now. Don’t be the type of person who is quick to jump on something else other than what you are doing now simply because, that new thing looks like it has great prospects or simply because you are experiencing some challenges with what you are doing now. Always remember that whatever will succeed will still require some time and hard work to build, and if you will put in that measure of work where you are now, it will yield to you.

In Luke’s gospel chapter 13, verses 7 – 9, Jesus told a parable of a fig tree that had been planted for three years without bearing any fruit, and when it was suggested that it should be cut down, the dresser appealed to the master of the vineyard that that it should be given one more year with proper care and then cut down if it still bears no fruit after that. You may just have to hang in a little longer to begin to see the fruits of your work there. The interesting thing is that once you tend what you are doing to the point that it begins to bear fruits, that fruit bearing process is continuous, many times  requiring only minimal effort. I encourage you to stick with whatever you are doing now a little longer, don’t give in just yet, one more year could be all that is needed, one more year and you may find fruits there.

Shalom