Stop Waiting for the Next Big Thing

The other day, I had this deep, sinking feeling that I had stalled on life.

If you know what I’m talking about, you would know that it’s one of the worst feelings to have.

I’m currently in seminary, and I love it, but at times I feel like I should be doing greater things. I feel as though this season of life right now isn’t allowing me to live to my full potential. And so, I look forward to the time after seminary, where I reason: that is the time I will be doing bigger things. That is the time life will be more exciting.

Sometimes, this helps me calm down about the present season. It helps me slow down and stay present in the moments happening around me. 

But most of the times, this mentality makes me lazy.

In fact, I found that I was prolonging living by waiting for the next big thing.

Truth is, I’m preoccupying myself with waiting for the next big thing rather than doing the things that’ll help make the next thing big.

In other words, I’m too busy waiting for the future to do something meaningful in the present.

I could improve my writing now, or write more books now, so my writing and my influence will be far greater in the next thing. But, because I see the next season as the better time to life, I push aside these things till the next season. I justify: now is not the time to improve my writing. It’ll come in the next season.

The other day, I caught myself on this lie. Like a ton of bricks falling on my head, I suddenly realized: the next season of life won’t be so big if I’m not doing all I can now to make it big.

With this realization, however, it’s important to realize that there is only so much you can do where you are now. Each season of life comes with its limits, and it’s our responsibility to acknowledge those limits when planning what’s capable and possible to work for.

But whatever you do, don’t let waiting for the next thing make you lazy about the present. It doesn’t make sense to do so.

Think about it like this: we don’t believe Heaven is going to be the time we worship God, and now to be the time we sin as much as possible. No, we worship God now so in the next life, we reap the benefit of a life-well lived.

The same thing goes for how we live our seasons. We shouldn’t stop, pause, and wait for the next big thing. Instead, the next big thing should flow out of what you’re currently doing in this season.

Life is a story, and each story plays out by a succession of plot, chapter by chapter. In the story of your life, don’t let your plot stand still. Don’t have a pointless chapter. Let each chapter flow into the next.

And hopefully then, you’ll be surprised by a season of life that’s bigger than anything you’ve ever imagined.

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