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A new edition of Soul Cravings, by Erwin McManus, is being utilized as part of the More Than Gold initiative, in conjunction
with Power to Change (see page 22). Here is an excerpt:
THE LIFE that is most powerfully lived is the one that finds passionate urgency
fueled by a sense of destiny.
We must become. This is both something we need and something we long for. One of the most quoted proverbs of Solomon is that without vision the people
will perish. He also said that hope deferred makes a heart sick. He seems to be
telling us that we need to have a dream we are pursuing and at the same time
experience enough of that dream to keep us inspired.
Where there’s life . . .
We need both to aspire and accomplish. Without a vision for your life, without a
sense of purpose, you will begin to die a slow death. At the same time, if hope
seems only an illusion, if you give up on hope, your heart, your soul, will
become sick. It is not only essential to keep hope alive; it is hope that keeps
us alive. Hope is the fuel through which we create the future . . .
The baby boomer generation seems to have perfected the cultural phenomenon
described as midlife crisis. The classic scenario is, you turn 40, and all of a
sudden you start reconsidering everything. You begin having this haunting sense
that you’ve wasted your life and will never fulfill your full potential.
Really there are only two scenarios that lead to midlife crisis. First, you’ve given all your life to pursue certain goals and dreams. You’ve sacrificed everything to get there, maybe even your marriage and children.
You’ve placed everything on the altar of success.
Now you’re nearing 40, and you realize that you have given everything you have and are
still going to fall short of your dreams, goals and ambitions. So you panic.
You find your- self in the middle of a life crisis.
The second scenario is exactly like the first, except for one difference. As you
turn 40, you realize that you got there; you. accomplished everything you set
out to do. You were so sure that it would be worth the sacrifice. Even when you
left people behind, you told yourself it was necessary for the mission at hand.
Stay focused. Don’t get distracted. Win at all costs. And there you were a success. You have
become the perfect picture of accomplishment without fulfillment. You have
everything, and you are empty. It all came to nothing . . . Sometimes this
crisis is solved by moving from success to significance. We’ve outgrown success. Now we know it’s not about that. We’ve grown up. We just want to be significant. We want to make a difference, to
make our lives count . . .
We are strange creatures, we humans. We strive for success, search for
significance, look for purpose, and dream of our destiny. Why do we need it?
Shouldn’t we be able to live without it?
Giving hope to others
All of us have a deeply rooted longing – not only for our lives to be different but to make a difference in the lives of
others. We are created with a need to have hope and to give it. When we become
jaded, we ignore the voice to catch those who are falling over the edge, but it
is still there within us and it haunts us. And even when we know something
should be done, we just hope someone will do it.
Yes, it is possible to deaden your soul, but not to silence it. The farther we
move from God, the more likely we are to actually give up on progress. A
superficial assessment would lead you to conclude the exact opposite, given
religion is often the enemy of progress, but God never is . . .
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God created us for progress. His intention for us was always that we would be
conduits of good. We can insulate ourselves from the problems of the world, but
in doing so, we become less than human.
When we give ourselves to create a better future, when we choose to become
instruments of change, when we refuse to accept the status quo and commit to
make the world a better place, something resonates within us.
It is beyond reason. It is something far deeper than that. Somehow we know that
this is right. It satisfies something deep within you. It’s as if your soul has been craving and you didn’t know for what. And there it was. Your soul was starving for hope – not just to have it, but to give it.
Never hopeless
This is the mystery of the human spirit, that God never in- tended for us to
live hopeless lives. When we treat the future as something that happens to us,
we become passive, apathetic and even paralyzed.
When we embrace our unique place in creation, when we believe that God has
created us to create, it begins to change everything for us. It not only
empowers us to live, but it holds us responsible for life. Not only our lives,
but the lives of everyone we could affect for good.
To live an aimless life is to live an unfulfilling life. You’re just not wired to give up on life. The best evidence thai your soul craves a
destiny is that when you no longer believe you were created with a purpose and
for a purpose, your soul is never satisfied with the life you have.
You can’t get enough, make enough, or buy enough . . . Your misery owns you.
To go beyond feeling, to go beyond compassion, you have to believe that it is
right to act, that you were created to bring change. If Jesus was nothing else,
he was an activist for change.
To be a follower of Christ is to believe that everyone’s life can be different. No one is defined by the status of birth. Our destiny
is not limited to our pedigree. Every human being is of equal value to God. No
one must remain a prisoner of fate.
The preceding is from Soul Cravings Prequel, a special 2009 edition of Soul Cravings published by Power to Change.
December 2009
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