NOTE (1/12/18): We’re all learning and growing.  Some of the stuff I’ve written in these old posts may no longer be exactly what I believe or think, or at least may not be articulated the way I’d do it nowadays.  I preserve them in an attempt it to be transparent about my journey, and in the hopes that readers may still glean some insight from the core ideas found here.  Thanks for journeying with me!

This article will probably not give you any advice you haven’t already heard.  “Don’t give up”, “Your words have power”, that’s basically going to be my point.  Yeah, I just gave away the ending.  If this article were a play, it would be of the tragedy genre – my point is going to be not so much how it ends, but how it gets there.

I want to show you how I’ve come to such a state of optimism by citing my personal journals.  Because, you know, reading my old journals has pretty much silenced all this talk about “we’ll never get what we want” for me.  This might sound crazy, but I’m telling you straight up: pretty much everything I have wanted and dreamed of in years past I’ve either already gotten, am on the road to getting it, or I was given the opportunity but then realized I didn’t really want it after all.

Sound too good to be true?  Well, here’s the proof.  A few years ago I drew up a a two-column chart consisting of quotes from my past journals on the left, and what has happened since the time it was written on my right.  A before-after kind of thing.  This is not exhaustive by any stretch of the imagination, but I think it makes its point, so take a look (and for reference, I am 22 years old at this point):

To take it a step further, I started a dreams list two and a half years ago, inspired by a teaching by Danny Silk.  Basically it was a bucket list consisting of everything I could possibly ever want to do before I die.  I came up with about 30 things then (doesn’t sound like a lot, but hey, YOU to try it…no actually, try it, it’s cool), and have added about 10 since then.  Of these, I’ve already been to Africa, I’ve already slept on a beach, explored a sunken ship, (sort of) learned to surf, started producing music, learned graphic design, seen lots of people healed by the power of God, and more…as for the rest, I’m in the process of doing many of them right now, such as “be self-sufficient and yet able to travel at will, creating income not requiring specific work hours”, “Be able to fix vehicles”, “Learn to cook and bake with anything”, “See revival happen in the places I grew up”, “Produce films”, “Write a play”…Heck, I’m even doing one today – “learn to swing dance”!  Remember, these are LIFE GOALS, and I only started this 2 years ago.  At this rate I’ll be bored silly by the time I’m 30!

Now let me clarify – this article is not an infomercial about how amazing my life is.  I only use myself because I know myself better than I know anyone else, so I know the whole story of how I got from where I was to where I am now.  But I realize, a lot of people don’t feel such utter hopefulness.  Maybe experiences have worn you down, some dreams have been crushed.  I’m not saying that’s not a struggle, and I’m not saying there’s not some disappointments.  I know that it’s not all roses and picnics, especially if something you’re seeking has to do with another person – because of course, you can never control them – you can only be responsible for yourself.

But I’d like to offer some other observations, from hindsight on looking at my own life so far, on why I think people live with such lack of hope.  Because, you see, I don’t think it’s, er…hopeless.  I’m convinced that we’re not just victims of our circumstance; here’s some reasons why I think people live like victims anyways:

A. They forget what they’ve been praying/seeking after because they don’t keep track of that sort of thing, or

B. They throw in the towel too early on dreams, treating life like a sprint and not a marathon, or

C. They hope for stupid things (in other words, they don’t look at the deeper reason why they want something in the first place – for example, many desire a girlfriend/boyfriend just because that’s where they get their identity, when they don’t realize that God is the only one who can give us our true worth…more on that here), or

D.  (And this is the one everyone’s heard but most people don’t actually listen to) They don’t want something bad enough.

To understand where I’m coming from, you have to know that I stripped my life down to its very core for a year and did pretty much nothing but work, read the Bible, pray, and study the lives of amazing world-changers.  I don’t live my life for myself, at the mercy of my every impulsive fleeting desire.  I live to please God, and I believe that the Lord put desires in all of us that He wants to accomplish – through His power and in His timing.  I’ve found the key to it all is Psalm 34:7 – Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.  It’s for real, folks.

So my suggestion would be to take that “victims of circumstance” list and do the opposite.  I dare you.  See if it doesn’t change things, even if it takes time.  Be encouraged, friends. Life’s not over if you don’t let it be.  Do this thing with the Lord and we will make our future selves proud.

The tongue holds the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)

You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:3)