Has life left me behind?

[Sharon Stults]

Reader Question from Asia: How can I overcome the feelings of being left behind, in life, opportunity and especially the right to know different things? I know I'm not a slow learner type of person but I was not given the chance to learn more. Do you think at my age 31 I still have the chance to excel in other things? I continue studying now in behalf of my status as a married woman. Please give me some advice and tips to become a different person, so that I don't feel rejected. Thanks....

As I read your question, I think there are two separate issues that I would like to address; first, the issue of improving and educating one's self and secondly, feelings of rejection.

First, self-improvement and education. It sounds like you have a dream or vision of something you wanted to become that you had to put on hold for awhile. The Bible has many references to God placing dreams in people's hearts so He is definitely in favor of us having dreams and goals. Make sure that your dream is a God-given one. John 10:27 says that, as a child of God, we will know His voice and what He is saying. Ask God to confirm your dream to you through the Word, other believers, cicumstances and just what you hear in your spirit from His Spirit.

Secondly, as part of that process, put in writing, (Habakkuk 2:2) what your dream is. It's good for us to see things in black and white to help us focus our thoughts, prayers and plans.

Third,if you need some education to accomplish this dream, pursue it. (Hosea 4:6, Proverbs 11:9) I returned to college when I was 46 years old. It was actually a great deal of fun to be in that environment because God was blessing it. My dream was to return to the field of school teaching and this was what I needed to do to fulfill that. God also seems to delight in opening doors for us to do things at an age that our culture might say was the "wrong age" for that particular thing. Noah started building the ark when he was over 500 years old and Abraham and Sarah had their first child in their nineties!

Fourth, make sure that you associate with wise people (Proverbs has many descriptive passages about who these folk are!) and not foolish ones. Foolish people willtry to convince you that your dream is foolish. Wise people will encourage, respect and support you.. Joseph's brothers were too foolishy absorbed with their own jealousies to see that God had big plans for young Joseph. Potiphar recognized Joseph's special gifts and talents immediately and put this young slave boy in charge of his whole househhold. Finally, dreams may take years to be fulfilled so don't give up when obstacles present themselves. There's always going to be giants in our promised lands!

Now, for the feelings of rejection. Although fulfilling a dream and becoming more educated will definitely help feelings of low self-esteem, those things in and of themselves will not heal a root of rejection. May I suggest that you spend time in the Word becoming more firmly established in understanding who you are in Christ? This is where we ultimately find our worth as God sees it. Begin memorizing some of the following Scriptures so that your mind is filled with ammunition. Be prepared for the assaults of our enemy, Satan, who would convince you that your worth is based on anything other than who Christ says you are in Him. Ask God to remove any roots of rejection in you that would hinder the pursuit of your dreams.

God's dreams for us are usually far larger than what we imagine for ourselves. Be encouraged that He wants you to fulfill your destiny even more than you do and is going to equip you with everything you need to do just that! Here are just a few verses John 15:15, Romans 8:17, Ephesians 2:10, Colossians 3:12, I Thessalonians 5:5,, Ephesians 1:3, Colossians 1:13, Colossians 2:10.