I had one of those “ah ha” moments earlier today. Driving back to Baytown from Tapatio Springs, I was listening to the Bible (note that I was listening and not reading). As the reader quoted Romans 15:20, it hit me. Now, understand I have read this verse on many of occasions. But, at this moment, Paul’s ambition became personal. I started thinking for a moment. Where did this ambition come from? I think God uniquely placed this ambition in Paul’s heart. God does give us the desires of our heart. Obviously, the desire, which consumed Paul, was God supplied. Then it hit me. What is the ambition of my heart? I thought for a moment as I rehearsed my personal purpose statement in my mind placing it into context. While I understand Paul’s ambition, his ambition isn’t mine. It hit me that his ambition was different than mine and that it was okay. Paul was a missionary practicing this gift of apostleship. His ambition was to start something new by going someplace no one had ever been before. He specialized in planting a work where a work had not been. He was truly a trailblazer of sorts. My ambition isn’t to go where nothing exists, but to go where a foundation has already been established. I have an ambition to work with the existing church in helping her to realize God’s call by perhaps doing something new. Just as God does something new where nothing has been previously done, God can also do something new in an established work. I guess that’s the uniqueness of one’s calling. God gives different gifts, calls, and ambitions.
So where’s your ambition? What is the desire that God has placed in your heart? Are you living it, waiting for it, or suppressing it? An ambition is to be lived. God doesn’t give desires or ambitions for no reason. Find your ambition and live it for God gave it to you.
By the way, I thought of this clip after I wrote this post. Maybe there’s some application to living out our God given ambitions!
