A confused man has speed. A visionary moves with velocity that eventually becomes momentum. There is speed, and then, there is velocity. You want to move fast with clarity and purpose. You want every step you take, to move you closer towards your goals. That is what it means to move with velocity. Moving fast without clarity around the exact change you want to drive with your mission adds up to nothing. After many years of running, you discover that your labours have not amounted to much. You have been moving with speed, no velocity. There is the place of gaining better clarity over time, and making the most of the light you have at the moment, but you should be wary of running without direction. Magnitude without direction is wasteful, and could lead to disaster.
Habakkuk 2:2 (ESV) says, “And the Lord answered me: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it”. There are three things going on in this verse. First, the vision is written. Second, it needs to be made plain. The vision must be scrutinised, and a clear business plan developed. It is the successful completion of these steps that enable you to run with velocity towards achieving the vision. You want to be clear about how your mission will change your world. You then draw up a plan around that change you are dreaming about. You need clarity for you to move with velocity.
You must avoid moving with speed at all costs. You must understand that you cannot steer your world towards a better future that is not clear to you. All your energy and enthusiasm is used up on projects that lead nowhere. You write up epistles, convene events and inaugurate projects, but nothing is getting done. All speed, no velocity. The future does not belong to the fastest, it belongs to the person doing it right – no matter how slowly. This calls for reflection. Are you running with energy, but just moving with speed in circles that lead nowhere? Or are you building velocity, and momentum by taking little, well measured steps towards the better future God promised us?
