– By Rhonda Fleming

 

Do you remember hearing those words when you were growing up?

 

Boy, I do!

 

Those commands were at the beginning of every foot race or bicycle race we ran as kids.

 

And they were important.

 

We needed to Get Ready – to be sure our shoes were tied, our hair was out of our eyes, our socks were pulled up and our sleeves weren’t in the way.

 

Then we needed to Get Set – to be at the starting line, facing the finish line, with our body in position to take off as soon as we heard the word Go!

 

Of course, that was sometimes the problem.

 

We didn’t know exactly WHEN we would get the command to Go!

 

I was thinking about this the other day. About how it relates to our lives as adults.

 

Or at least it does for me.

 

It’s New Year’s Day when I’m writing this and I’ve been spending some time looking over what I accomplished (and didn’t) last year. And looking forward to what I want to accomplish (or finish) in this new year.

 

I have some smallish dreams, some medium-sized ones, and some very large dreams I’m going after. I believe God has put them in my heart and I want to fulfill them.

 

But they’re not dreams I can accomplish today. Or tomorrow. Some of them won’t be accomplished this year, or possibly even during my lifetime.

 

But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to run after them.

 

I was thinking about the dreams God gives us . . . and those three commands: Get ready. Get set. Go.

 

We have to Get Ready to tackle each of our dreams. We have to be prepared in order to accomplish each step.

 

The beauty, at least for me, is that I can look back and see how God has been helping me get ready for some of my current dreams my whole life – before I even knew about them.

 

In fact, it seems like everything I’ve experienced in my life is being used as preparation for some part of the dreams God has put in my heart.

 

I love that about Him.

 

God also helps us Get Set. To get to the starting point. To be in position. To focus on the finish line.

 

Sometimes changes come into my life that I didn’t foresee. And that I don’t see as part of the plan. At least from my perspective.

 

But as things evolve, I realize how God has positioned me perfectly to take the next steps necessary to fulfill my dreams.

 

Of course, just like in our childhood races, we don’t always know how long it will be between each of the steps.

 

Sometimes it takes FOREVER (or what seems like it) to Get Ready. God gives us a dream and we think we can just jump in and do it! And when we do that, we sometimes fall flat on our faces.

 

God knows better. He makes everything we need available to us, in just the right order, and at just the right time, so we can get prepared for what it’s going to take to finish the race.

 

And then He helps us Get Set — in the right place at the right time with the right people and the right resources to accomplish each step.

 

Unfortunately, we don’t always see it that way.

 

In fact, sometimes we (I may be talking about me) balk at where we are, how early or late it is, who is around us and who is not, and everything we seem to be lacking.

 

Sometimes I think it’s just our perspective. We can’t imagine how we can possibly fulfill our dream based on the circumstances we find ourselves in.

 

But I also think we’re right. We don’t have everything we need to finish.

 

And I believe that’s exactly how God wants it.

 

Because if every little detail is perfectly lined up, then we don’t need faith to move forward. We won’t need to continually focus on and trust Him throughout the race.

 

Whatever dreams you want to tackle today or tomorrow or for the rest of your life, remember those simple words from childhood.

 

And remember that God knows exactly how to help you Get Ready and how to help you Get Set for the dreams He’s put in your heart.

 

And when He says Go, don’t hesitate. He knows exactly what He’s doing.

 

Get ready.

 

Get set.

 

Go!

 

 

 

This post was written by Rhonda Fleming.

She is the founder of Anchoring Hope and the author of Treasure Seeker Bible Study Workbook.