As children, we all wanted to be a princess, astronauts, racing car drivers or rock stars. We had big dreams, wanted to change the world, become famous and marry the prince.
And then we went to school. At the very beginning, we thought that now when we were learning to read and write, we were on the right track. Now the world lies at our feet. Over time, however, we have found that it is obviously not that easy.
In Germany we have smileys in elementary school? There were weeping faces, too, when you made a lot of mistakes. I think they were the epitome of disappointment. Apparently, I wasn’t as great as I always imagined.
And somehow on the way to growing up, we buried our dreams. Honestly, who’s gonna be an astronaut or a princess? It’s not easy to become the next top model or winner of “The voice”. And the prince marries someone else, too.
Is that the way it is? Is this the course of life? Are the great things basically meant for others?
I just visited Spokane in Washington (USA). There is the Spokane River, which flows a few hundred kilometers south of the Canadian border towards the Pacific Ocean.
Here you can see beautiful waterfalls. Quiet cool. But they have got something slumbering inside that you can’t just see. These waterfalls are used to generate energy. A lot of energy. Two of the waterfalls, which are in Spokane Downtown supply a city with around 20,000 households with electricity. You cannot see that. The power station with a huge turbine is located underground. It doesn’t show. It means the power of an entire city is in there without you seeing it.
And so it is with you. There’s a lot more to you than you can imagine. And by that I don’t mean that you only use your brain a small percentage of the time as a normal person.
No, I mean what God has put in you!
There’s a super cool spot in the bible. You may know Moses, that is the guy who liberated the people of Israel from captivity in Egypt and divided the Red Sea. That Moses had an assistant named Joshua. And when Moses was dead, this young guy was supposed to take over Moses’ job. Maybe he had big dreams when he was a kid. But imagine that: You’re supposed to be the successor to the superstar. The one who received the 10th commandments from God himself!
But God said to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous…“
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, „Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. …
No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.
Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.“(Joshua 1, 1-7)
And finally it was. Joshua finished what Moses started.
There’s a lot more to you than you think. There’s a huge potential slumbering inside you. Just as these waterfalls only look like a pile of water, and in reality they are a small nuclear power station, there is so much more in you than you can imagine.
Now you’re thinking: „Great, I haven’t discovered yet. Maybe in the others, but not in me!“
That’s not true. You’re something very special. You’re not in the world by chance. God has put an infinite potential in you. Find it. Be brave and strong. Believe that the world has been waiting for you. God has not overlooked somebody when he has distributed his gifts and talents. And it’s not like he has a great plan for the world, just not for you. God wants you to be happy. He doesn’t want you to give up your dreams. He has a great job and a great life for you.
As Jesus said in John 10, 10: I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Ask him to show it to you. And if you don’t know God personally yet, dare to know him.
