How many of us grew up in youth ministry and were sold the idea that we were going to do life-changing, earth-shaking exploits for God? That destiny and calling came with a great amount of swag, street cred, and enough salvations and healing miracles to make Christianity cool again?

And how many of us have since grown up into young adults, exhausted office workers, struggling parents who would rather zone out and watch Netflix than read the Bible? Or play one more round of whatever mobile game last caught our attention than ask a friend about how he’s doing?

Maybe you’re the kind of believer going about daily life, still believing that you’re going to change the world. All I need is the right person to notice how brilliant and anointed I am – any day now.

Or maybe you’re on the other side where you’ve completely given up and just concluded that you bought into false marketing. 0/10 would not purchase again. 1-star Amazon review. You might think it’s better to just go back to paying the mortgage and supporting a young family.

After all, who’s got time for calling and destiny?

By now, you must be thinking that this is some disillusioned cynic’s rant on the overhyped youth ministry dream, ten years later. But stay with me.

Yes, like many of my peers, the grind of daily life often looks vastly different from what we’ve been sold from the platform.

And yes, some of our peers do end up becoming very visible church leaders. But they are a handful in a youth ministry where we grew up in the hundreds and thousands. So what happens to the rest of us who don’t become pastors, platform people “making a difference”?

If you can relate to all that, I guess my question to you would be this: who told you impact and success had to be measured by visibility?

When did we start believing that calling and destiny are only stepped into when you stand on a stage and preach to innumerable crowds? Or when you gain enough followers to call yourself a social media influencer?

We are so enamoured by the idea of reaching everyone, that we forget that reaching the world starts with one. Why do we measure success by how a big a crowd we can draw, when we ourselves should be one who God draws near to?

… who told you impact and success had to be measured by visibility?

Are calling and destiny found only in the grandeur of large platforms, or are they also in the quiet moments you have with different ones in your life? And if your platform starts with the seemingly mundane and normal things in life, why should anyone deem it as some lesser thing?

Your marriage, the decisions you make every day that your children watch, the conduct and honour you bring into your workplace, finally meeting that one friend the Lord keeps placing on your heart, buying tissue paper from the hawker uncle … these are not small things.

Living with a sense of the largeness of God’s generosity and love, knowing that by His supply, you can extend love to others too – is such a calling any lesser?

I challenge you to redefine what calling and destiny looks like for yourself today.

We have countless opportunities to reach others, one life at a time. And who knows? It doesn’t mean your calling and destiny will always remain the same in different seasons.

But it’s not about you. It’s about God and His glory. The path to fulfilling what He wants out of your life starts with what’s in your hands today – right now. Who’s in your world? Today? Right now?

May we never despise and consider such a worthy life any lesser than the mere glamour of a stage.

This article was first published on Lizzy’s blog and is republished with permission.