Start With What You Know

I have found that if I want to transition out of something and move into something new, many times I feel stuck and immobilized as to where to start. Have you been there? I want to move, but am just not sure how to begin.

So what I have discovered is that a great place to start is to take an inventory of what I already know to be true. During times when I evidence a little intelligence, I write down that list of things I “know” to be true related to the issue at hand.

I did that this morning. I woke at 5:30 with something on my mind pertaining to our printing and publishing business. I started a list of single sentence thoughts surrounding the area in which I wanted to bring some transition. Each line on the paper represented something I have found to be true surrounding the core issue.

As each line was listed and built, clarity of understanding began to unfold. Beginning points and even general solutions started to become evident. Proverbs 17:24 notes: “A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.” I need to regularly “keep in my view” or the forefront of my thoughts, those things I know to be true. Also, I must not always be looking for the “newest” thing to focus on all around me, without being somehow still tethered to the wisdom and truth I already have obtained on the subject.

Deuteronomy 30:11-14 says it in a different way: “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.” In short, God is saying that He has already made certain things readily available for us to grasp.

So when considering a transition in your life, start with making a full list of what you know surrounding the subject at hand. God has already revealed many things to you that you “know” to be true. From that vantage point, new thoughts can spring to life as a great starting point from which to launch.