“I have a dream…” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Recently I met with a client who is the leader of a growing organization. One of her strengths is that she is inspired by the future and what could be. She is also very good at bringing people together to work to make that dream a reality. And, she has seen some great dreams happen. But currently, she is feeling stuck.
Can you relate? Do you have a big dream for the future and are seeing things happen. Or, are you feeling stuck right now?
Moving forward into the future always takes faith. Faith is being certain of an outcome in the future, even though it is not a reality in the present. There are no guarantees, and we never have complete control of things outside of ourselves. But we can always choose to nurture the faith inside of ourselves, which leads to perseverance.
A way to encourage perseverance is to learn from the examples of others. We just celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. day this month. He was a man of a vision with faith to persevere. Another person who is known as a great person of vision and faith is Jesus. He had a vision to love and care for people as God directed Him. Here are three steps to perseverance based on examples from his life.
1. How to Nurture Perseverance
“When Jesus heard what had happened (a dear friend had been killed), He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed Him on foot from the towns. When He landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick… After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” Matthew 14:13, 23
We never forget to give food and water to our body. In the same way, our faith needs to be fed and nurtured. After a difficult time of a friend being killed who was in alignment with his vision and after a time of intense work towards his vision, Jesus took time to nurture His soul. Do you take time to withdraw, be quiet, reflect and nurture your soul and therefore build your faith?
Sometimes circumstances happen that tear down our vision. We can feel like the wind is taken out of our sail. Other times, circumstances can be happening so rapidly towards our vision, that we can become worn out trying to keep up. In either case, we can become depleted. Taking a regular time to “feed and nurture our faith” is critical for perseverance during these times.
2. How to Build Perseverance
“When He saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like a sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest fields.” Matthew 9:37-38
You only harvest when the crop is ripe. There is also right timing involved with bringing a vision to fruition. I can be guilty of not watching, of not making sure the timing is right. I then go out on my own time table to harvest and end up with no fruit. My labor and productivity amount to nothing.
So how do we know when the harvest is ripe, or the timing is right to act on a vision? This again comes back to faith. Jesus said, “Ask the Lord of the Harvest.” Jesus’ vision was to love and care for people as God directed. So He needed to listen to God. For him, faith is evidence of God at work.
With your vision, are you being aware of what is working around you? Are you listening to people? Often times what they say is an indication of when the harvest is ripe for your vision. Perseverance is built when you move at the right timing.
3. How to Save Your Perseverance
There is the story of Jesus walking on water in Matthew 14:24-33. Peter, Jesus’ team member, was seeing God at work in an amazing way, so He asked to come to Jesus. But then Peter’s perception and his focus got turned away to circumstances around him. He was distracted. He stopped drawing near. He stood still and then doubted. Faith became less. He started to sink. But then he realized his desperate need and that he could not fix it on his own. He called out for help and got it.
We all face certain points, where we feel defeated, fearful or just plain doubt our vision. Doubt lessens faith and therefore perseverance to the vision. This happens to all of us. What separates those who sink versus those who overcome, is whether you recognize the danger immediately. When you doubt, do you recognize it and then call out for help?
When your faith for the vision is low, you need to talk with others with whom you trust. Have you identified these trustworthy people in your life? It could be a friend, colleague or coach. We all need others to help us persevere.
Vision is critical for clarity on where you are going with your organization, team or life. Faith in the vision is also just as critical to making it happen. How do you nurture, build and save your perseverance?