...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

I think we have all, at one point or another, thought to ourselves, "I want to make a difference." This issue comes up as we choose our careers, decide to perform volunteer work, and even as we contemplate raising a family. We want to make a difference - to make the world around us a little bit better. We all like the idea of leaving the world in a little bit better condition than the way we found it, and we all, I think, struggle with the question of how we're going to do that.

This has been a big issue for me. For a long time, I've known that that I couldn't settle in a job where I wasn't somehow helping people. I've felt a pull toward some sort of social work and even pursued the idea of ministry for awhile. Every road I've gone down - every option I've tried - has started off well enough, but has eventually let me down. Nothing seems to fit me. At this moment, I'm struggling with this question again, and am once again praying over what God wants me to do with my life. I haven't quite found the direction and discernment I seem to always be asking God for, but the one thing I am becoming certain of if that there may be no "perfect career" out there for me.

This could make me hopeless and endlessly frustrated. Truthfully, at times, it does. I'm reminded, though, of this verse from Philippians where Paul tells the people of that church that God will complete the good work He began in them. What does this mean to me? This tells me somehow that it doesn't matter what I'm doing, as long as I commit it to the Lord and allow Him to work through me as I work doing whatever job I am led to. God will make a difference in my world through me if I allow Him to. I remember a sermon once that said that the main question is not what you do, but who you are as you are doing it.

Now, as I'm looking for another job, I'm again faced with those same familiar questions and uncertainties, but I'm always trying to remember that it doesn't matter where I end up spending my days between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM. What matters is who is working through me as I am there, and whether or not I'm willing to share my occupation with the One who will lead me there.

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Imagine Being Inspirational

We all want to have purpose. We all want to mean something. We want to inspire others, and live our dreams. God wants you to have purpose too, and He wants to help you get there. God can bring purpose and inspiration into everything you do. Peter is a great example of this. Jesus saw a great purpose in this man and helped him become an inspiration to others. Peter started off as a regular guy, a fisherman (Mathew 4:18-22), but as God began to shape his heart and build his knowledge, he became an ambassador of the Lord and spoke to many people about the wonderful things God has done (Acts 2:14).

Have you ever looked closely at the world around you and found things that you believe could be better? Perhaps that feeling you get is God's way of showing you where your purpose lies. Perhaps God has a plan for you that will change the world. God can do big things with just one person; He can also do things through communities of people. Having the inspiration and the accountability of others helps tremendously when it seems your purpose in life is much more than you can take. Without a community of believers on your side, the devil works twice as hard. I challenge you this week, as we imagine being inspirational, to look at your world and see if God is showing you your purpose, and then embrace it! God bless all of you.

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Being Inspirational

We all seem to desire our lives to make an impact on the world and the lives around us, and that we be viewed as one who is inspirational to others. That's a natural desire, as it's part of the way God made us. But when we measure ourselves against this backdrop, we often feel that we fall short of our aspirations. Sometimes I wonder if I'm really making an impact, or if the world would not be so different without me. But as I look at the lives closest to me, including my parents and my wife and my children, I very quickly realize that my life really does make a difference in their lives. And I see times that when I really do make an effort at positive change, my simple efforts often means so much in their eyes.

There is a story in Exodus 17:9-13 that describes how Moses instructed Joshua to lead the battle against the Amalekites. Moses was up on a hilltop with Aaron and Hur. As long as Moses held up his arms holding the rod, the Israelites were winning their battle, but were losing whenever his arms came down. Aaron and Hur saw the need, and helped Moses hold up his arms. The Israelites were victorious that day.

Moses had a couple of close friends around him on the hilltop as he did his part in helping the entire nation of Israel conquer their enemy. I am inspired by Moses who saw the need and had the fortitude to hold up his hands toward God as long as he could. I am also inspired by Aaron and Hur who saw that their friend, Moses, was committed to what God had called him to do, and they gathered along beside him to help during this critical part of his journey.

Over time, I've learned it's most important to pay attention to those closest to me. For if I go out trying to change the world but leave behind my friends and family, the real gifts of inspirational living are lost. I need to start where God has placed me, with the lives I already touch every day, and pray that God will first help me impact their lives. If God gives me one of those big visions to really reach out and touch a lot of other people, I hope I'll have lots of friends to take along with me on the journey.

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When I think of inspirational people of the Bible, usually the "famous" ones come to mind. For example, Moses parted the Red Sea; King Solomon's wisdom inspired many; John the Baptist baptized Jesus. God laid His hands on these men and they became extraordinary.

As a child and as a teenager, the people I looked up to were often "famous" celebrities--those who starred in movies or had #1 hits. As I have gotten older though, I feel that the most inspirational forces are the ones sitting next to me in church. There are a few people that readily come to mind--individuals who make me want to be like them. These folks don't even realize how they have affected my life. I am thankful that God allowed me to cross paths with them. Without the church community, I would have never met them, interacted with them, and grown to admire them tremendously. These people, however, didn't do extraordinary things like parting a sea or star in movies; they were just being themselves. They were kind, compassionate, and forgiving.

Over the years, the church community has embraced me and led me through some extremely difficult times in my life. Without the members of my church community, I would not have survived and grown as a result of my struggles.

As I look around this church community, instead of finding people to inspire me, I now hope that I find a way to be inspirational to them. I pray that God will lead me to that end. I know that I will only accomplish this by being actively involved in my church and becoming compassionate, kind, forgiving, and open to others.

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Do you ever wish you could make a difference in your community? That you could impact someone's life with the way you live your life?

The best way to make a difference in our community is to allow God to work through us. When we allow God to work through us He can do amazing things. In Matthew 10 there is an example of how God can use someone to make a difference. (Read Luke 10:25-37). In the parable the man who stopped and helped the man in need made a difference in his community. I often think that I have to do something huge to make an impact on my community and then I am reminded of this parable. The Samaritan man helped one man and he made a huge impact on his community. We don't have to cure world hunger to make a difference in our community. Some times doing a small act of kindness can have a huge impact.

Are we looking for ways to impact our communities no matter how big or small? There are ways God can use us to impact our communities if we will allow Him... all we have to do is ask that He will use us and He will. Allow God to use you to make a difference in your community.

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