The Extraordinary Power Of Now

From Therebelution http://therebelution.com/blog/2014/06/the-extraordinary-power-of-now/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rebelution+%28The+Rebelution%29

Have you ever had one of those mornings where you wake up, and just wonder, “What am I doing with my life”? You sit and wonder if your life matters, and who would miss you if you were gone. You have this big sense of restlessness within you. “Is there more to life than what I am currently living?” “When will my big moment come?” “Will I ever amount to anything?” There has got to be more to life! Right?

This may or may not be you, but I know I have had far too many of these mornings. Despite all of my efforts to have that perfect life I imagine, I am often left wanting more. We can seemingly have everything in our lives that we could ever want and still we will often wonder “IS THIS ALL??”

We wonder, “God, what is my purpose? When will I finally be living it out?” Well, I am not about to try explaining the purpose of life, but I think it is essential for us to gain a new perspective on our NOW — and this is what I want to dive into today.

There are many biblical stories we could reference as we adjust our perspective, but I decided I wanted to use King David as our example. Although none of us will ever be trying to lead a nation as a King, I believe many of us aspire to be something that matters “one day.” We want more for our life, but we’re stuck in a routine that (we feel) is getting us nowhere closer to our potential. We feel that what we are doing today is nowhere in line with what we are supposed to be doing and will leave no impact.

This is where this story comes into play. David is one of the most popular characters in the Bible. We can easily see in history the number of ways that God used David for HUGE things, but we miss the really important parts so often. We miss the diligence and effort He had to put in behind the scene before any of the glory. That’s just it, we marvel at the glory, but we forget about the story.

David had to realize the power of his present situation to ever be prepared for his greater challenges! David wouldn’t have been prepared for Goliath if he hadn’t been faithful with his father’s sheep (FYI, shepherding was looked at as the lowliest of jobs in this time). David would not have been prepared for a king’s court if he hadn’t been faithful in playing his harp for Saul. David would never have been prepared for fighting for his nation if he hadn’t learned to be strategic protecting himself in his many years of hiding.

David had to endure the process of making progress towards his potential. Yet each time one of these challenges arose, he maximized the potential he had which set him up for greater potential for his future.

So you want to be great? That starts today. It starts NOW. And it comes in two forms.

1) Maximize the moments

This starts when we realize that from the moment we wake up to the moment we are asleep, we have thousands of opportunities to be great. These are the little opportunities no one looks at as greatness. It’s the hug you give, the dishes you put away, the bathroom you clean, the friend you write a note to, the homework you complete well, the practice you give everything at, etc.

So I need you to get this. We miss that greatness lies in the little moments of life! We look for a grand magical purpose in our future and miss everything that is truly great in our life. We miss that our potential is found in the process of making progress. This is our issue! We strive for our grand purpose of our potential but overlook the impact of the process of progress. This is one of the essentials of being great.

2) Invest in your deposit

You have gifts, talents, and abilities. You have these for a reason. Invest in them. Do you play an instrument, play a sport, or perform? Are you a good listener, good with finances, or great with kids? God gave you these things as a deposit, so invest in them! Maximize them!

We must realize something about being great. It is the things that no one sees that produce the results everyone wants. The people who inspire us to be great did not just appear over night. They had to develop their deposit with diligence. They learned to steward their gifts in the “NOW” — completely changing the trajectory of their potential. Their greatness came from their daily grind.

The world needs people who can take what they’ve been given and maximize that deposit through investing in it. Be YOUR best. This will make you great.

These are both things you can do right now! And that is why NOW is so critical.

You can keep sitting and waiting on that new opportunity to arrive, or for your dream to come true. But if you aren’t maximizing NOW your deposit will be scarce when the doors do open. Your deposit won’t be stimulated enough from your investments to be able to carry you into your bigger opportunities to come.

You may not see the actual purpose of your current situation, but if you see that it HAS a purpose, you will keep from selling yourself short of your potential.

Don’t overlook the power of now.