December 30
Something More
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
––Micah 6:7-8
Every man I know wants to make a difference and leave a positive mark on the world. Here are two facts related to that statement:
- There’s absolutely nothing you can do about failures or missed opportunities from your past. (Other than make amends to those whom you have wronged.)
- There’s a great deal you can do to affect your future and achieve things you never imagined.
That’s a relevant statement whether you are 18 or 88. But you may be sitting there thinking, “You don’t know me. You don’t know my failures and limitations.” You’re right, I don’t. But here are some facts that don’t depend upon anyone’s opinion of you:
- Starting today, God can take the gifts and strengths He poured into you at birth and use them to advance His goals and desires.
- Your past failures don’t have to define your present or your future.
- In fact, your past failures are exactly what God might want to use to release the Holy Spirit through you to be a healing force in the world.
As an athlete, I learned how to visualize success on the basketball court and in other sports situations. That mental discipline and training paid off, and helped me in college and in my career. For God’s man, however, positive thinking alone isn’t going to cut it. Even if you are the smartest and most gifted guy in the room, unless you turn all of it over to God, you will not rise to the level He has envisioned for you. Part of the way? Probably. But are you satisfied with only fulfilling a portion of what God created you to achieve for Him? Me neither.
The fact is that talent, positive attitude, gifts, and intelligence are like a Lamborghini without gas: it looks good, and people will be impressed, but spiritually speaking, it just sits there. Do you want to make a mark today and tomorrow greater than the one you’ve made so far? Then it’s time for your own “come to Jesus” meeting—for real. Ask Him to take all your failures, all your successes, your gifts, your abilities, and your hard-earned experiences and use them exactly the way He wants.
That’s how you get from something less than to something more.
Father, I yearn to achieve more for You than I have to this point. I surrender my past, present, and future to You so You can use me as You desire.