How we can strive to do something meaningful

When all of us were kids, we all had a dream of what we wanted to be when we would grow up. That is all we talked about when we were younger. It was so exciting to think about our future when we were in school, because we had nothing holding us back. It seemed that our possibilities were endless. Our teachers and our parents would encourage us and tell us that we can do anything that we set our mind too. Do you remember that?

Now we fast-forward twenty years and we ask ourselves where has that excitement gone? We look back on our younger selves and we ask, what happened? Why wasn’t I that famous racecar driver, doctor, lawyer, police-officer, and so on? Why did it not go the way that I wanted?
As soon as we get out of school and we wake up in the real world, it seems that our dreams and goals, are just that, dreams. It does not seem like we can make them a reality any longer. That excitement that we once had can start to evaporate. When this happens, we start settling for what were handed, instead of taking charge.

When everything is going down-hill, what should we do? Should we give up and just take what we were handed, or should we do everything within our power to get a shot to do something meaningful?

The first thing that we need to realize is that if we give up on ourselves, then we will never get to where we want to be. If we keep our head down and never take any risks, then we will never advance.

There is a story that we have all been told, that still speaks to us today. There was this little shepherd boy named David, who never expected to be anything more than a shepherd boy. However, something happened that blew up his world. A great army was attacking, with a mighty warrior that no one dared challenge. He tore down everyone in his path, and the Israelites were losing all hope in winning. Then little ole David decided he would do something crazy. He went up and challenged that mighty soldier and won, by slinging a single stone.

Due to his victory David eventually became the king of all of Israel. The little shepherd boy whose future was to tend sheep, ended up as a king. He did this with God on his side, and with God there, this boy defied all odds, which changed his future forever.

If David, who was a poor shepherd boy, can become a king thanks to following God, then imagine what God can do with you?

Even though this story is unique and amazing, it is not the only underdog story. There are many stories that have been told that has an underdog. However, if we think about it, all stories are a variation of an underdog story.

The first underdog story that has ever been told is the story of Adam and Eve. I know at first glance it doesn’t look like it, but it is. We see God created Adam and then Eve, but He intentionally gave them control over their own lives, when He knew what the result would be. He knew that they would eventually betray them, but He made them anyway and took care of them anyway.

With our tunnel-vision it can be easy to call God unfair or unloving, because He made us with the knowledge that we would end up screwing everything up. However, if we look deeper, we can start understanding why He did this.

If we look at the attributes and actions of God, we can see that He likes to play the Father figure. He designed us with the idea that we would be His children. Since He wanted to be a Father instead of a dictator, He needed to give us freedom to grow and to make mistakes. If He didn’t then there would be no personal relationship, but instead as an employee and an employer.

Since God loved us, He wanted to watch us grow and develop into our own individuals. He wanted each of us to make our own choices and decisions. Therefore, we have the freedom to do whatever we want today.

He wanted us to do something with ourselves, without Him controlling us like puppets. This way we can make our own path in this world, this way we don’t have to settle for a mundane life, but instead strive for something great.

If we look at the example with David, we can see this same pattern. If God didn’t create us with freedom, then David never could have changed his role in the world. He never could go from a shepherd boy, to a king. The gift of freedom is what gives us the ability to choose our careers and to have goals in the first place.

That is why when we feel discouraged or like nothing is going right, we have the power to do something about it. We don’t have to stay as a shepherd boy for the rest of our lives, instead we can strive to be a king.

What can you do to change the outcome of your life?

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