I played a lot of sports growing up – baseball, basketball, swimming, tennis, golf, you name it. My favorite, however, has always been basketball. As a 5’ 10” guy (in sneakers), I had to depend on a good outside shot to make an impact in the game. My dad and I would spend hours working on my shot. One of the things we always worked on was my follow through.
Good follow through in basketball starts with good shooting form. It’s almost impossible to have a good follow through if your form is bad. Your follow through can tell you a lot about your shot. Were you lined up properly? Did you shoot straight? Did you bend your knees and shoot the ball high enough?
I’ve been thinking a lot about follow through lately. Like a lot of people, I’m a very good at starting things. I get excited about a new project and dive right in. It’s a lot of fun researching a new project, getting all the stuff I need, and getting started. After a short period of time, however, usually the initial motivation drains away and I realize that finishing the project is going to take more work than I had imagined. I end up with a lot of half-finished projects that take me forever to complete. Like last spring, I built a playhouse for my daughters. It turned out great, didn’t take me long to build, but there’s just one problem. I didn’t put the roof on. For months it’s been sitting in the back yard without the roof. The kids are begging me to finish it, and my wife’s about to kill me. I’ll get it done eventually.
Lots of people have great ideas. Really, a great idea is a dime-a-dozen. It takes something special to put together a plan and actually see it through to the end. Make a quick list of some things you’ve started but haven’t followed through on. Most of the things on my list aren’t really that hard to do, it just takes some focused effort.
What I’ve realized is that, much like in sports, when I don’t follow through in life it indicates a problem with how I started. What was my motivation? Did I think through the whole process? Where did my execution break down? Many times I find out that my motives were wrong. I confuse a passing interest in something with real commitment. Sometimes, we think we want to take a new direction for our lives, but when the real commitment is required, we back off. Maybe it’s fear, maybe we’re just not ready. I’m not sure. What I do know is that I need to be seeking God’s will rather than my own. Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” God’s purposes will ultimately prevail. So, I should probably be asking the question, “what does God want out of me?”
Finishing
I want to be a good Finisher. This is something Christ modeled so well to us. Christ said, “We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us (John 9:4).” Jesus had a sense of urgency because he knew his time on earth was short. You see, the Enemy is working against us to stop us from finishing anything worthwhile. By making things difficult, our Enemy conspires to frustrate and discourage our efforts. Over time we think that we can’t make substantial progress in our lives because making that next step is tough. The incomplete playhouse in my backyard annoys me, makes me feel a little down because I haven’t finished it. I know a kid’s playhouse isn’t a big deal, but think about the other things you want to finish. What about the great idea you haven’t fully explored? What about the tough conversation you need to have with your wife/kids/parents? What about the phone call you need to make to a close friend?
When we start to be a Finisher, suddenly we feel like we can accomplish more than we thought. It’s amazing what the confidence that comes from a few small successes.
What am I going to do? Well, for starter’s I’m going to finish the roof on that darn playhouse . . .
