Before You Act On That Idea, Do This

“The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:2 NKJV

In the bid to move from formless idea to execution, we are often motivated to just get started. Once something drops in our hearts, we move quickly with our understanding, taking no consideration of how God would have us move.

This is why we get exhausted with execution. We move fast and burn out fast. This also leads to confusion because we’re unsure of our steps and lack the faith to see the end.

All this happens when we don’t allow our spirit to search the depths of God’s mind concerning that formless idea. This form of incubation must happen before the first action is taken.

Before creation manifested physically, God took some time to incubate his intentions. He saw the depth of the formlessness and emerged with a map that He began calling forth. This should be our process.

How should we incubate?

When we put work out there, that’s execution. It is assumed that some effort has been put into that work to deliver results.

But work doesn’t come first. Incubation does, and this is a period where no work is done.

Sometimes, it looks like nothing is happening. It’s a waiting period where all we do is ask questions, self-reflect, pray, and plan. When the incubation period is skipped, the resulting work will lack thought.

When someone shares an idea with me, hoping for some advice, I may not have a response until after a few days. During that period, the idea rolls over and over in my subconscious mind, and eventually, a plan appears.

Whatever counsel I give that person afterward is often more practical than on-the-fly advice. Inspiration from several sources and daily activities leads to a feasible next step. 

“I think before I do.”

Do you take time to plan before taking action? Do you spend all the time planning without acting? Do you take action without planning?

These three questions are different approaches people take to get work done. But they lead to different results. Which one are you?