So, You Want to Make a Difference

So, you want to do something extraordinary?

 

Yeah, me too.

 

Make a difference. Change people’s lives. Bring hope to those seemingly hopeless. Impact, encourage, and inspire the world.

 

Sometimes, we just have this ache to…do something.

 

We see the model Christians over in Africa, digging wells and building schools, and those young teens starting nonprofits. We watch as people intervene in crises, take in refugees, adopt a houseful of kids, have this whole change-the-world-plan by age fourteen, and we’re over here in our cozy little homes drinking pumpkin spice lattes and sweeping the kitchen floor and feeling guilty.

Because we know those big things are out there, we just tell ourselves we haven’t found the right ones to do yet.

 

But maybe we’re mistaken.

 

Honestly, now, don’t we all want the feeling of doing something significant? Making our own little imprint on this big world of seven billion people? And glorifying God in the process?

 

There’s something quite gratifying about living a dangerous and exciting life for Jesus. Those Big Things feel so fulfilling, so encouraging to our oft-restless souls.

 

Because the cleaning, the studying, the day-to-day life stuff – so much of it doesn’t feel very important, when we see the starving kids half a world away, souls to be saved, orphans to be adopted, organizations to be founded, book contracts to be landed.

 

But what if we’re called to right here?

 

What if God can use us right now?

 

What if there’s such purpose in this place that we’re in?

 

We can’t underestimate the impact that we can have right in our communities, in our families, in our homes. We can’t forget that there’s a reason God has given us our unique lives, our unique gifts, and our unique situations – and that He desires that we would want to be used right where we are.

 

Of course, there’s value in the going. In the mission trips and the worship leading for thousands and the CEO-by-twenty-one thing too.

 

But there’s also value in the little moments.

 

In the dish-washing and the course-studying and the sibling-helping and the private-Bible-studying and the texting-encouraging-messages at night.

 

God’s right there, too.

 

He wants to use you right there, too.

 

He wants you to seek Him in the small things, too.

 

He wants you to know that He’s glorified when all things are done for Him, not just the huge things.

 

If you feel called to be a missionary on some other continent, then fabulous.

 

But if you feel called to just do life here, praising God in the little things, serving those around you, and loving others as God does, well, that’s fabulous too.

 

Think about your situation. I don’t know what it is for you. I don’t know what your life’s like, what your messy battles are, what things are like behind the scenes.

 

I don’t know what you’re called to do, and I don’t know how you feel about the things that are happening in your life right now.

 

But I do want you to know that you don’t have to miss out on God’s leading for your life, His blessings, or even true joy if you’re not doing something big.

 

Friend, God wants to use YOU. Yes, you. Right here, right now, in this moment. In the pain, the struggles, the sometimes-boring everyday life.

 

You don’t need to wait for something big to happen. You don’t need to give everything away. You don’t need to have a lot of funds, or prove to anyone that you’re a really dedicated Christian by the good things you do.

 

Remember that joy that comes in doing what you feel called to do – even if that just means being faithful in day-to-day tasks, showing love to those around you, and doing what’s right for that day.

 

It doesn’t have to be enormous.

 

It doesn’t have to be noteworthy.

 

It doesn’t have to be purposefully painful.

 

You can have an impact in this very place. You can find joy right now. And you can pursue your purpose right where you are.

 

You’re living this life for a reason – so don’t wish it away. Embrace it all, and let God truly lead.