God’s Major League Dreams
Matthew West on Aligning Your Ambitions with God’s Plans
From childhood, we are often encouraged to find our ‘one thing’ – the single talent, the unidirectional path that will define our lives. But God, in His infinite wisdom, designed us to be so much more.
Contemporary Christian musician, singer-songwriter, and author, Matthew West shared in his interview with Family Life Radio how his faith journey has led him to discover the multidimensional aspects of his talents and purpose.
Align Personal Ambitions with Higher Purpose
Throughout his life, Matthew has exhibited a consistent drive to pursue his ambitions. Both of his parents tell stories of how he never waited, even from the time he was in diapers. He said, “In high school, for me, that looked like sports. I wanted to be the captain of my football team, and I did.” He said, “I’ve always been driven like that.”
“Something really special happens when your drive and your ambition lines up with pursuing what Matthew 6:33 says.”
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (ESV).
Matthew continued, “It’s not your own ambitions – not your own aspirations.”
Surrender Personal Plans
A pivotal moment in Matthew’s life occurred when he decided to lay down his personal plans – in his case, dreams of becoming a baseball player – in favor of trusting in God’s plan.
“I look at the fruit of my ambition and I know why there’s fruit. It’s because I made the choice to lay down my plans. I wanted to be a baseball player,” Matthew shared. “My dad always said, ‘God’s plan for you is a major league dream, compared to your minor league dreams.’ So, when you put down your own dreams, your own plans and say, ‘Lord, I want what you have for me,’ man! There are endless possibilities.”
Embrace Your Multidimensional Talents
In his faith journey, the pandemic presented a profound turning point for Matthew. In the face of global chaos, he discovered that God, in His omniscient creativity, had endowed him with talents beyond his primary path. These talents were not one-dimensional but spanned across writing books, creating podcasts and even composing songs to bring laughter and joy to children (Romans 12:6-8).
We possess limitless possibilities when we open ourselves to God’s guidance.
“I feel like God just began to show me in some powerful ways that He is not a one- dimensional creator. The things He creates are not one dimensional either – like us.”
Take Off the Self-imposed Limits
Matthew says these last couple years for him have been about leaning into different areas of gifting. “Sometimes it’s writing a goofy song that’s going to make some kids laugh when they’re going through a hard time. I got all these kids coming to my shows singing, ‘Gobble, Gobble.’ They’re finding my real songs because of a goofy song. And sometimes it’s a podcast or writing a book, and so it’s been exciting to just go.”
Limitations are often self-imposed, and by surrendering our perceived limitations to God, we can live a life full of extraordinary possibilities.
“There’s no limit,” Matthew said. “God could use me in multiple dimensions!”
Humility and Gratitude
Yet, amidst his success, Matthew remains humble, acknowledging his achievements as fruits of his faith and God’s grace. His story is an inspiration to live life in alignment with God’s purpose, showing us that we are multifaceted creations of an infinitely creative God. We can surrender our plans, discover and embrace our varied talents, not limit ourselves, and maintain humility throughout.
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10 NIV).
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