Like you, there have been times in my career in the business world as well as in ministry where I have experienced periods of great momentum. I felt like an unstoppable freight train whipping around the corners and holding on for dear life. There have been other times where I felt like I was trying to push a freight train up a hill in the middle of a desert. Sometimes, it’s easy to identify the “lack of” or “abundance of” momentum. Other times, we can’t quite put our finger on it. Or, we’d rather not try to figure it out because we have our suspicions that we are the problem or at least a big part of it.
Dave Ramsey defines his Momentum Theorem as, “focused Intensity over time, multiplied by God, creates unstoppable Momentum.”
If Dave’s theorem is true (and I believe it is), then there are several things that could be the cause of No-Mo-mentum or Slo-Mo-mentum. Interestingly enough, I happened to be thinking about the Momentum Theorem and vision while I was cleaning glass the other day with my 4 year old daughter. Here are the lessons I learned from a spray bottle and a 4 year old.
1. Stream the vision instead of spray the vision – The “Spray” feature on the Windex bottle works best for coating a lot of glass with a little bit of glass cleaner. When it comes to vision, we want to turn the nozzle to “stream”. Focused intensity means we stream as much vision as we can into a smaller area.
2. Apply liberally - My 4 year old daughter understands this principle when she helps me clean the glass. There is never enough glass cleaner in my daughter’s mind. She sprays and sprays and sprays until the window sill is covered in blue liquid. When it comes to our vision, there is never enough. we need to spray and spray and spray until we have flooded the area and we are standing in the vision.
3. Don’t dilute – With window cleaner, dilution is important. Without the proper dilution in the bottle, a cloudy residue will appear on the glass as the sun shines through. When it comes to creating momentum, residue is a good thing. We want our vision to be so heavily concentrated that it leaves a residue on lives when they come in contact with it.
4. Allow Daddy to refill your bottle - When my daughter sprays the entire bottle of window cleaner on the window, she brings me the empty bottle and asks me to fill it up for her. When your bottle is empty, allow your Heavenly father to fill it up. He is the supplier. He never runs short on supply. He knows exactly what you need, when you need it.
My vision and your vision is weak and accomplishes nothing apart from God. God’s vision is strong and changes everything.
Here is my Momentum Theorem as learned from a spray bottle and a 4 year old. “Streaming undiluted vision in large quantities over time with God filling up the spray bottle, creates unstoppable momentum.”
