Go Back To The Drawing Board

There once was an artist who came up with an idea for a cartoon rabbit. The idea turned out to be a pretty good one. He quickly found a distributor, and soon his rabbit was the star of cartoon shorts in movie houses all across the USA.

The artist, however, was naive in the ways of business. When it came time to renew his contract with the distributor, he learned that the distributor had secretly stolen away all the rights to the cartoon rabbit, and also had secretly hired away all of the artist's assistants who helped him draw the cartoon shorts.

The artist was devastated. He had already declared bankruptcy once in his life, and now he was looking straight down the barrel of another financial disaster. All of his hard work and creativity and dreams seemingly had been for nothing.

The artist got on a train in New York. He had a long trip back to his home in Los Angeles. He didn't know what to do, or what the next step was that he should take. He took his drawing board out of his bag and began to doodle. This was something that always brought him pleasure and comfort, even in life's darkest moments. The artist began to doodle some other animals. He was trying to think of another idea that would be even bigger and better than the rabbit.

The artist came up with the idea of a cartoon mouse.

The artist was Walt Disney.

His creation was Mickey Mouse.

You know the rest of the story.

In your international ministry, you will have seasons of heartbreak and betrayal. People you trust will knife you right in the back, and people you thought were your friends turn out to be your worst enemies. Your plans and your vision may be in jeopardy. Fear not.

You can always go back to the drawing board.

Whenever I hear this story of how Walt Disney came up with the idea for Mickey Mouse, I am reminded of God's words in Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV), "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

I know nothing of the spiritual life of Walt Disney. But I do know that the story of how he came up with the idea for Mickey Mouse should inspire all of us to keep moving forward in our ministries, even when the enemy has stomped all over us and has seemingly ripped our vision away from us. If that is happening to you right now in your international ministry, then go back to the drawing board.

It made all the difference in the world for Walt Disney, and it'll make all the difference in the world for you, too.