On any number of occasions I have asked, “Lord, why am I here on earth? How can I possibly make a difference?” While the answer received was not instantaneous, over time I learned something I said or did had an impact on someone’s life. Take this true story I found this week (author unknown):
“In 1892 at Stanford University, an 18-year-old student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan, with nowhere to turn for money, he came up with a bright idea. He and a friend decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education. They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski. His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $2000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck, and the boys began to work to make the concert a success. The big day has arrived. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $1600. Disappointed, they went to Paderewski and explained their plight. They gave him the entire $1600, plus a check for the balance $400. They promised to honor the check at the soonest possible. “No,” said Paderewski. “This is not acceptable.” He tore up the check, returned the $1600 and told the two boys: “Here’s the $1600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred. Keep the money you need for your fees. And just give me whatever is left”. The boys were surprised and thanked him profusely. It was a small act of kindness. But it clearly marked out Paderewski as a great human being. Why should he help two people he didn’t even know? We all come across situations like these in our lives. And most of us only think “If I help them, what will happen to me?” The truly great people think, “If I don’t help them, what will happen to them?” They don’t do it expecting something in return. They do it because they feel it’s the right thing to do. Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when the World War began, Poland was ravaged. There were more than 1.5 million people starving in his country, and no money to feed them. Paderewski didn’t know where to turn for help. He reached out to the US Food and Relief Administration for help. He heard there was a man called Herbert Hoover — who later went on to become the President of the United States. Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of food grains to feed the starving Polish people. The calamity was averted. Paderewski was relieved. He decided to go across the ocean to meet Hoover and personally thank him. When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and said, “You shouldn’t be thanking me Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college. I was one of them.” (I just love true stories!)
Yes, you can scratch your head trying to figure out what you want to do in life and what your purpose is. I firmly believe we were all put here for a reason and to make a difference – somewhere, somehow — just like Paderewski.
We all have God-given talents – use them! Everyone is talented at something. We were all given gifts and talents that we can use to find our purpose in life and to help and inspire others. God is the one who gave you your talents, and he gave them to you for a reason. He knows the potential that you have and knows that you are capable of great things. Trust in him and let him lead you. Follow him and he will guide you to find your purpose.
It takes patience; remember God’s got this. It’s in His timing and not ours. Don’t get upset when it doesn’t come, but rather look forward to the time that it will come and be grateful for what we have in the present. He will reward you for your patience, and the reward will be even greater than we can ever imagine.
Do you trust Him? Make sure the plans you have line up with His plans. We often have a difficult time trusting him because we are afraid of the unknown. We never know what he has planned for us and we are afraid that whatever it is, it will not make us happy. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Remember rejection is a lesson learned to make a necessary correction. I know — rejection hurts! Whenever we fail at something or get turned down, we tend to get discouraged. We start to give up on ourselves. Instead of giving up and feeling like a failure whenever something does not go the way that you want it to, take that as a lesson to be learned. God uses every situation in our lives for good. Even when we do not realize it, he is working in our favor, everything happens for a reason, even when we have no idea what that reason is, it will always work out for the better. Trust God and what he is doing in your life — He never disappoints.
It’s all in His perfect timing! “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:3. God isn’t making you wait for fun — He does have a plan and He will see it through! Trust in the Lord and in his timing. He will reveal his purpose for you at the right time. Do not stress.
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” – Proverbs 19:21.
Bottom line — He’s got this!
Debby Efurd is co-founder of Cary John Efurd Ministries of Pittsburg, TX. She has been a contributor to Bound for Life and written numerous articles published in LifeNews, Christian Post and the Baptist Standard, and is the author of Go Tell It! Debby can be contacted at caryjohnefurdministries@gmail.com.
Tagged: patience, purpose and calling, scripture, trusting God
