By Chris WittsSunday 22 Dec 2024Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
If you were to ask a little boy or girl what they want to be when they grow up, you’d get a variety of answers. A little girl might want to be a ballerina or a nurse, and the little fellow wants to be a fireman. If you’re a parent as I am, you’ll know what I mean. Kids have big aspirations, don’t they. Everyone has dreams of the future—good things for the days that lie ahead.
A single mother dreams of the day when she can stay at home and look after her child, or a university student dreams of the day he can start his own business. Each of us has dreams and aspirations for the future. Norman Vincent Peale once said, “To achieve anything significant, everyone needs a little imagination and a big dream”. And I think that makes a lot of sense. After all, God has made us for eternity—God has big plans for us. Inside each of us is a desire to be better and accomplish something significant with our lives.
Why? God made us that way, for he implanted a bit of eternity inside us. You were made for him, and nothing else will satisfy. The Bible says that we are all created in the image of God. That’s a powerful statement, but I’m not sure we know what it means.
Psalm 139:14 (NIV) says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made”, and then verse 16:
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Little is much when God is involved
God inspires ordinary people with extraordinary dreams because we are made not just for this Earth, but for eternity. He has big plans for us as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT):
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”
And that means you and me. I heard someone put that verse in another phrase: Little is much when God is involved. Think about that for a moment. You may believe that you’re just an ordinary person with not much going for you, but that’s not true. Don’t fall for that lie. You may say things like:
- I won’t do anything remarkable.
- I could never do anything special.
- I will never do anything of significance.
- I will never change the world.
God is a master of taking ordinary people and doing extraordinary things.
I believe this thinking is not only wrong self-talk, but it’s bad theology. Because as ordinary as you and I think we are, God is a master of taking ordinary people and doing extraordinary things with their lives.
Think of people in the Bible like:
- David: a shepherd boy—the runt of the family—who became king
- Mary: an impoverished young girl who, because of her faithfulness and steady spirit, was chosen to bear God’s Son, Jesus
- Peter: an uneducated, red-necked fisherman who followed Jesus—and changed his world.
And in our generation, we recall Mother Theresa, a tiny little nun who has impacted the whole world like no other in the past generation. And Martin Luther King, a poor black kid, with a dream to change racism in America forever.
God can do wonderful things in your life
Can I say that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from? All things are possible for those who believe—for those who love God. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9). If you take this seriously, it means you were born with tremendous potential flowing through your veins, and God can do wonderful things in your life.
But why don’t we live as though we have victory on our side?:
- Why are we so defeated?
- Why aren’t we achieving more in life than what’s happening at the moment?
- Why aren’t we challenged and encouraged daily?
Author Tony Campolo says, “Many people live and then years later die, without having lived at all.” Is that true? Can we end up living 80 or 90 years of life without actually experiencing life at all? It seems such a waste.
American philosopher Henry Thoreau said this, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” A modern-day philosopher puts it like this: We aren’t desperate—but we are vaguely dissatisfied, because we have been living half lives, half-heartedly.
I suggest our plans come alive when we offer them—and our self—to God. Proverbs 16:3 says: “Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed.”
God placed us on this Earth for a reason and a purpose.
Let’s remember God is the One who made us up. He placed us on this Earth for a reason and a purpose; he placed that dream within us. And our job is simply to discover that purpose and dream and carry it out! Let me ask you this:
- Do you serve people with love and kindness?
- Do you care about the people you work with?
- Are you developing people to their highest potential?
- Are you helping the hurting and needy?
To be clear on motives, we must be clear on God’s place in our lives. 2 Corinthians 5:17:
Those who follow Christ become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
Allow your life today to be open to God. Give him the freedom to change and forgive, to open up areas, to build your life the way he wants. When he has the controls—when he’s driving the car—guess what happens? His plan and his vision become your plan and dream and vision.