Have you ever had one of those mornings where you wake up, and just wonder, “What am I doing with my life”? You sit and wonder if your life matters, and who would miss you if you were gone. You have this big sense of restlessness within you. “Is there more to life than what I am currently living?” “When will my big moment come?” “Will I ever amount to anything?” There has got to be more to life! Right?
This may or may not be you, but I know I have had far too many of these mornings. Despite all of my efforts to have that perfect life I imagine, I am often left wanting more. We can seemingly have everything in our lives that we could ever want and still we will often wonder “IS THIS ALL??”
We wonder, “God, what is my purpose? When will I finally be living it out?” Well, I am not about to try explaining the purpose of life, but I think it is essential for us to gain a new perspective on our NOW — and this is what I want to dive into today.
There are many biblical stories we could reference as we adjust our perspective, but I decided I wanted to use King David as our example.
Although none of us will ever be trying to lead a nation as a King, I believe many of us aspire to be something that matters “one day.” We want more for our life, but we’re stuck in a routine that (we feel) is getting us nowhere closer to our potential.
We feel that what we are doing today is nowhere in line with what we are supposed to be doing and will leave no impact.
This is where this story comes into play. David is one of the most popular characters in the Bible. We can easily see in history the number of ways that God used David for HUGE things, but we miss the really important parts so often. We miss the diligence and effort He had to put in behind the scene before any of the glory. That’s just it, we marvel at the glory, but we forget about the story.
David had to realize the power of his present situation to ever be prepared for his greater challenges!
David wouldn’t have been prepared for Goliath if he hadn’t been faithful with his father’s sheep (FYI, shepherding was looked at as the lowliest of jobs in this time).
David would not have been prepared for a king’s court if he hadn’t been faithful in playing his harp for Saul.
David would never have been prepared for fighting for his nation if he hadn’t learned to be strategic protecting himself in his many years of hiding.
David had to endure the process of making progress towards his potential. Yet each time one of these challenges arose, he maximized the potential he had which set him up for greater potential for his future.
So you want to be great? That starts today. It starts NOW. And it comes in two forms.
1) Maximize the moments
This starts when we realize that from the moment we wake up to the moment we are asleep, we have thousands of opportunities to be great. These are the little opportunities no one looks at as greatness. It’s the hug you give, the dishes you put away, the bathroom you clean, the friend you write a note to, the homework you complete well, the practice you give everything at, etc.
So I need you to get this. We miss that greatness lies in the little moments of life!
We look for a grand magical purpose in our future and miss everything that is truly great in our life. We miss that our potential is found in the process of making progress.
This is our issue! We strive for our grand purpose of our potential but overlook the impact of the process of progress. This is one of the essentials of being great.
2) Invest in your deposit
You have gifts, talents, and abilities. You have these for a reason. Invest in them. Do you play an instrument, play a sport, or perform? Are you a good listener, good with finances, or great with kids? God gave you these things as a deposit, so invest in them! Maximize them!
We must realize something about being great. It is the things that no one sees that produce the results everyone wants. The people who inspire us to be great did not just appear over night. They had to develop their deposit with diligence. They learned to steward their gifts in the “NOW” — completely changing the trajectory of their potential. Their greatness came from their daily grind.
The world needs people who can take what they’ve been given and maximize that deposit through investing in it. Be YOUR best. This will make you great.
These are both things you can do right now! And that is why NOW is so critical.
You can keep sitting and waiting on that new opportunity to arrive, or for your dream to come true. But if you aren’t maximizing NOW your deposit will be scarce when the doors do open. Your deposit won’t be stimulated enough from your investments to be able to carry you into your bigger opportunities to come.
You may not see the actual purpose of your current situation, but if you see that it HAS a purpose, you will keep from selling yourself short of your potential.
Don’t overlook the power of now.
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I needed to read this. I find it really hard to seize the moment – the time that I have to use on worthwhile pursuits. There are so many worthless things out there, and I am easily distracted. I guess that’s where I need to depend on God right now.
I’m so glad you found this helpful! Realizing the potential currently surrounding you is a very difficult thing!
Psst. The author profile pics on the Rebelution are hotlinks and the source site doesn’t like that….
Great article tho.
Excellent article!
True! We are in this generation of ‘do it later’ and ‘maybe not now but soon’. Sadly many Christians tend to go that way, just being in their comfort zone. Which reminds me of a quote from Out of the Harbour book by Jiamin Choo: “A ship is safe in harbour but that’s not what ships are for.” Similarly, we are not born to stay but to move wherever God leads. And that is NOW.
Your article is definitely inspiring and challenging! Press on!
Great article! Very inspiring to be brave. All David had that God desired was a willing heart, David himself was defined as “A man after God’s own heart.” It’s no accident that most times the people who become great don’t have much of a backstory, David was a shepherd. I forgot who said this but there’s a quote that goes something like “If you lot becomes to be a street sweeper, than sweep like Da Vinci painted pictures, like Michelangelo created sculptures, like doing it unto God! (ok, I added that last part 😉 ) but my point is God chooses the people who are selfless and ready to persevere for him. Thanks for the article Blake!
Thank you for the encouragement! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for this article Blake! I really need this as a reminder in my life right now.
One of the parts of this article that really stood out to me was when you said, “We miss that greatness lies in the little moments of life! We look for a grand magical purpose in our future and miss everything that is truly great in our life… We strive for our grand purpose of our potential but overlook the impact of the process of progress.”
We often strive to become great, when being great truly lies in doing the small and seemingly insignificant things that occupy us now in a great way and with a great attitude. We need to realize that what really matters is what we are doing here and now rather than thinking about what will happen in our future, for what we do now helps to prepare us for what God has planned for us.
Thanks again! This article has been very thought provoking and inspirational. 🙂
Thank you Hayley! You are exactly right. We often forget that holding that door for the person with their arms full, and being faithful serving at church are massive stepping stones(even though they seem small) in the process of progress. Thanks again!
you’re welcome. 🙂
God has led me to read this article. Thank you because honestly… these past two weeks have been tough. I trust and know that God has called me to do something great for His Kingdom and His Glory. However, I have been contemplating on being homeschooled, but at the same time I am not sure if God is calling me to stay at school and maximize my moments. Whatever happens, I know He will guide me.
I know exactly how you feel.. You feel called to something so big but you don’t know which door is “good” and which door is “great”. But God uses that time to prepare us! Praying for you!
I really think we should all ask ourselves this question when we are young. Just about 12 or so. Because if we start to accomplish our goals and gaining the skills we need for what we want to do with our lives early. We’d have learned a lot more than if we started when we were 18! That’s why it is so important to start at a young age! Brett Harris said to me,
“One of the reasons it is so cool for young people to start early on projects, is because the skills we develop build on each other. The earlier we start, the further along we’ll be ten years from now and twenty years from now.”
Great article Blake! 😀
It is possible to practice the power of now with mindfulness and meditation to avoid mindless distraction and seize the moment. It is about being more purposeful with the mind and body now. http://www.destress-now.com
We need to make a difference now instead of 20yrs from now. We need to make a difference in our community and the world. Thanks for sharing Blake!
Well said, very applicable and convicting to my present situation! 🙂