On Making an Impact

When you embrace your identity as a world changer, it is often easy to get discouraged once you start to think that what you are doing isn't significant enough. Take me, for example. Five and a half years in Malaysia. Am I even making a difference here?

It's easy to say I'm not if I base it on the scales the world creates. But these aren't the standards that matter. It's the standards of the One who called us that matters the most.

I miss those early years when I had all the time in the world to just go out and see how God was moving in the lives of people all around. Unbound by work, having only my thesis and several class hours, I could go anywhere at a moment's notice to meet up with people, to talk about life, to sing "Salamat, Salamat" over and over again while playing a guitar with blistered fingertips. And then I'd spend the following day hibernating especially if the previous one was far too tiring.

We went to Malacca weekly because there was a group of Filipinos there, hungry for the word of God. We spent time with friends in KL, Kajang, Serdang - Johor, even. Those people had different stories. Some were at the height of life, some were at the lowest of their lows. But it warmed my heart to see how they clung to God no matter what.

These days I'm consumed by Monday to Saturday working hours. It often feels like Sunday is the only day I can give to God and to other people. But I realize that's not how things are supposed to be. I can be a blessing even during the nine-to-five. I can be a world changer even if I'm not travelling from city to city, even if I am not speaking in front of crowds as big as the Bukit Jalil Stadium.

Yes, there are people who do that - God bless them for heeding that call. And it's wonderful to dream of doing that too, someday. But this is where I am now. And this is how I can make a difference today.

Nothing is in vain. Things become of great significance when they are done with a great, great heart.