Can You Imagine It?
Many books and articles have been written for the purpose of encouraging people to achieve great things in their lives. Books talk about the power of positive thinking, the power of our words, how to focus on what you want, and the value of working hard and smart. But what happens if you can’t even imagine a future different from your current experience? What if you don’t even know about the options that exist, or you don’t have any desires for the future, because you can’t believe that you have capabilities beyond your present state?
This was Dan Chu’s experience. As an ethnic Hakka Chinese, Chu grew up in a poor area of Calcutta, India. His father was the principal of the local Chinese school along with other odd jobs, and his mother ran the family tannery that Dan worked in before and after school. The Hakka Chinese were considered to be second-class citizens and earned a living doing work that the Hindus wouldn’t do. Trash dumps were behind his home, and the whole village shared one address.
One day when he was 14, he happened to sit at dinner next to a visiting American from a church in Tempe, Arizona. This man ended up sponsoring Dan Chu’s move to Phoenix where he finished high school, and later graduated from Arizona State University. Along the way Dan worked hard at whatever odd jobs he could find, and eventually became a permanent citizen and brought his entire family to the U.S. He later completed his MBA at Harvard and began a career as an investment banker. Until recently, Dan Chu was an extremely successful metals and mining banker with UBS. He is described by colleagues as “a man of humility and flexibility”, who is “comfortable anywhere in the world.”
I learned about Dan from an article in the Wall Street Journal (A Passage from India), and the statement that struck me the most was when he said that as a child “I didn’t have dreams of leaving (the poor area of India) because I couldn’t imagine it.” Yet, for some reason he was fortunate to escape his poverty, and begin to dream of a successful life in the U.S. According to the article, it didn’t appear that he had a specific plan or vision, other than his willingness to do whatever it took, even the jobs that others didn’t want.
Dan reminds me of the story of Gideon. He was the youngest son of Manasseh, and a member of the weakest clan of the Israelites. As the least of the least, he was destined for a life of toil in his father’s house. But an Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!“(Judges 6:12).”Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” (Judges 6:14). Gideon dared to believe the words of the Angel, and proceed to cut down the altar of the god Baal and build an altar to the Lord God instead.
The leaders of the town were infuriated when they found what he had done, but his father stood up for him, and soon, all the people of the town gathered behind him and made him their leader. Thirty-two thousand men gathered with him to fight the Midianites, but God wanted to ensure that He would get the glory for saving the people. So God instead instructed Gideon to weed out the soldiers who were afraid, and those who didn’t behave like warriors, and send them home. He was left with 300 men, but the actions of this small brave band of warriors led to the deaths of 120,000 of their enemies. God worked through Gideon’s obedience and leadership to overcome the Midianites who had been oppressing the Israelites, and the country enjoyed forty years of peace while Gideon ruled as their judge.
Both Dan Chu and Gideon had no thoughts or hope of leadership in their lives. There was no evidence that they possessed leadership skills, nor that they were capable of accomplishing anything of significance. Yet, they were plucked out of obscurity and given an opportunity to make a difference. They had to make a choice on whether they would begin to imagine a future far different from their past. They had to be brave enough to reinvent their self image. They had to take on a world view of exploring the future possibilities, instead of focusing on the present impossibilities.
What would your life be like if you stretched your imagination to even think about an accomplishment that is so far beyond your reach that it’s incomprehensible? Well like Dan Chu and Gideon, you have an Angel of God waiting to reveal a plan for your life that you can’t even conceive of. He is able to transform your nothingness into valuable skills and abilities. You simply must seize the moment, hear and obey. Joyce Meyer, the well known evangelist has a book called Do It Afraid: Obeying God in the Face of Fear. I challenge you to imagine a new, far reaching future for your life, and to “do it afraid”.
Copyright 2011 Priscilla Archangel
Photo from IStockphoto
Scriptures from NKJV
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