Fortune Tide

"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries." --Julius Caesar 4.3.217

 

Leaders know what to do, but they also when to do it. Shakespeare recognized there are “tides" in life which lead to fortune.  Missing that tide could banish one to the backwaters. We sometimes call this a “window of opportunity.” This Shakespearian proverb is about right timing.

Of course, God sometimes calls us to the backwaters, and every "fortune tide" is not from God. But some are, perhaps many. God “troubles the waters” and the time is right to build, to launch, or to move forward, and if we miss the tide it could be years before another chance comes.  Opportunity often has a short shelf life. Most cultures have proverbs recognizing fortune tides. We say, “make hay while the sun shines" or "strike while the iron is hot." Or we say "Carpe deim!”--seize the day. In these unusual “Kairos moments”  we can make ten times as much progress with 10% of the effort.

Have you ever see such a "fortune tide?" Ever been in a church when an opportunity came and the church didn’t act? And they’ve paid for it ever since?  Fortune tide does expect us to be rash, or act to early, but to act when the time is right.

But Shakespeare’s Fortune Tide is a double edged sword. He reminds us we can miss the tide and wind up in a backwater. Windows of opportunity imply the window might get closed. The Israelites refused to "cross over" and wandered in the desert for 40 years. Have you ever seen a church face a Kairos/Kadish moment and miss the tide? How do you know a fortune tide is from God?

 

So, what do you think?

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Keith Drury January 17, 2012
www.TuesdayColumn.com

 

 

Original 1984 recording: http://www.drurywriting.com/keith/strategetics/leadership/71.mp3