"Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."

And this one too - think it's very helpful to me too in my search for His calling for me. :) I remember Hanhui exhorting me to have this 'holy discontent' in my heart...

Oh just to clarify what I mean by "Holy Discontent":

Simply means that you're not satisfied with this life - you need something much greater to live for. And shouldn't we have this hunger in our hearts to make something meaningful of our lives? Our lives are worth far, far too much to indulge on ourselves only. No, they were meant to be poured out into other people's lives.

(That's why I can't stand the Centrepoint ads... they promote a self-serving, self-indulgent agenda... I mean, it's not wrong to enjoy ourselves, but... life is so much more than just living for ourselves only!)

I remember reading in Reader's Digest many years ago about this brilliant man, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, who was regarded as "Father of the Nuclear Navy", and achieved many, many things in his long life. But on his deathbed, he turned to his friend (think it was Jimmy Carter) and asked him, "What have I done with my life, really?"

His friend didn't know what to say, so he tried, "Think about the impact you've left behind on people..."

The admiral thought about it and said, "Ah. The impact on people. I think I can live with that." And with that, he died shortly after.

Somehow, it struck me as very meaningful. After I die, what will I have made of my life? Reminded of "Tuesdays with Morrie" - there's this quote that says: "Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live." (Thanks for sharing that quote, Qiyue! :))

So as a Christian, I believe that God put me, and you, and everyone else here on earth. And each one of us has a unique purpose that no one else can ever fulfill. As a dear friend put it this way, "Go and be all you can be in christ. the impact we will have on the world will vary. and no one can take the place of what we can contribute this lifetime."

But the question is then, what is that SPECIFIC purpose and calling in this life? That's where the "Holy Discontent" part comes in - our hearts aching together with God's heart over this broken world. But from what I learnt from history, all too often, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Think the Nazis, think the Communists. Utopias become dystopias. That is the outcome of what happen when men try to make a difference... without knowing WHERE to make a difference.

Like a brain surgeon who cuts. He must know exactly where to cut. Or else it would have been better if he'd never cut in the first place. So that's why we need to know exactly WHERE to make our "cuts". And only the Creator of the universe can show us precisely where to cut. We are just the scalpels. He is the Surgeon. We mustn't ever reverse the roles.

Taken from Popeye Theology: A New Year's Meditation

1. Not every heart stirring is a call or an invitation from God;
2. Don't give up if Holy Discontent takes a while to build up within you;
3. When you discover your Holy Discontent from God, FEED IT!
4. Don't let yourself get so beaten up that you lose your hope.

I would add a fifth: Don't get discouraged if you make a move that you believed was a 'Call from God' and it doesn't work out. God believes in failures and is willing to work with them! The Bible is full of examples of such people, including Rahab the Prostitute and Jacob the Cheater!

[F]or some of you reading this, there is a Holy Discontent brewing in your life and you may need to heed the prompting of the Holy Spirit to step out into the deeper waters.

So, when you feel the Heavy Hand of God pushing you in a direction you are not comfortable with, ask Him to show you the things that break His heart.

Just because I stepped out in faith and found out it was [sic] working for me, doesn't mean that I have missed the Will of God. I feel like Thomas Edison who said that he found out a thousand ways a light bulb doesn't light up. In this process, I have found out where I fit and can best serve the Lord.