Do you ever plan to wake up early on a Monday morning to go to the gym, get in to work early, or to just have some quiet time? Last night before I went to bed, I set my alarm for 5:03AM so I could make it in to the gym before work (I’m weird and have to set my alarm for odd times – I never set it in the 5 minute increments because that would just make too much sense…) This is early for me. I consider myself a morning person, but by morning I mean like 8AM. Definitely not 5:03AM.
So when my alarm went off this morning, I snoozed it. Then I snoozed it again. Then I set a new alarm altogether for 6:02AM. Then I snoozed it yet again. And finally, at 6:11AM, I got out of bed, ashamed that I did not stick to my plan to work out.
Yes, I was tired and groggy and it was raining outside which made me just want to pull the covers back over my head. But, then on my way to work, the radio DJ said something that really stuck with me.
You don’t have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great.
When I thought it about more (after I had coffee, of course), I realized it was my insecurities holding me back from going to the gym. I don’t work out as often as I should, and after I noticed my pants fitting a little more tightly than I would like, I vowed to myself I would try to keep in better shape. But, I’m not very familiar with the gym equipment and I certainly don’t know how to do all those workouts I see on Pinterest! I mean, the list of excuses I used to justify not going to the gym can go on and on. But if I never start going to the gym, how am I going to overcome my insecurities, my worries of self-doubt?
Last night, Zach and I read about Moses and the burning bush. When God called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt to the promised land, Moses felt completely unqualified – Moses was insecure about his abilities to accomplish what God had called him to do. But you know what? It wasn’t solely Moses’s responsibility. Moses wasn’t ever alone – God was with Moses every step of the way, helping Moses live out what he was called to do.
Do you ever have these worries and concerns that you aren’t good enough, that you can’t do something? Often I think I’m not experienced enough at work to agree or disagree with a coworker’s interpretation. But I’m never going to build my experience if I don’t start now. I’m never going to learn how to use the workout machines at the gym if I don’t ever go to the gym. And for those bigger things in life we feel incapable of accomplishing, the paths God leads us down that we feel unqualified to walk, remember we are never alone. We can’t let our fears to hold us back and keep us from being great. With God on your side, you can’t help but be great!
The Road to There 