Wait, what? Go. Set. Ready. ??
The email arrived from my friend Kari. I figured it was a typo.
Ever watched a track meet? First command from the starter is always something like Ready or Take your mark. It’s a warning, an indication to prepare because the event is about to begin.
When everyone’s in place, the next command is Set. Runners hold position for a brief moment until the final command…Go!
So what’s with Go Set Ready?
Kari reminded me that I’m never ready, not really. Waiting for ready is the best excuse in the world to avoid following the dream.
On September 11, 2011, Becky and I left Lake Itasca, Mn to begin a 1500-mile handcycle ride along the Mississippi River. I wasn’t ready.
Completing the journey would require averaging 40-mile days. The longest ride I’d ever done was 35 miles. We didn’t have a route. We didn’t know where we would stay or if anyone would invite us to speak.
We were afraid.
Some said we were crazy. I say we followed a God-sized dream. I say we prepared as much as we could and decided to trust God for the outcome.
We learned as we traveled. We encountered remarkable generosity, and my cycling got stronger. About two-thirds of the way through the ride we actually kind of figured out what we were doing. Go Set Ready.
You’ll Never Be Ready
Life’s not a track meet. The starter won’t yell Ready! The dream won’t wait for the perfect time, that moment when everything’s just right.
It works like this:
- Commit (Go!)
- Start
- Train (Improve)
- Ready (Sort of)
- Rinse and Repeat
It’s God’s design. Don’t wait until you’re all spiffed up and perfect. Commit, start where you are, walk with Him in a process of lifelong training and growth.
# # #
Of course I’m thinking of this in terms of bike riding and the FREEDOM TOUR. If you’re curious about this amazing opportunity, I hope you’re not waiting until you’re ready. I hope you’ll jump in, sign up, start training, and trust that you’ll be ready.
But this isn’t just about cycling. God invites you and me to give up the idea that we need to be perfect before we begin our journey, whatever it may be. He wants us to Go! right now and trust Him to train and prepare us.
Jesus used that process to call, equip, train, and send a ragtag crew of disciples. He trusted them to change the world.
Nothing’s changed.