What If “Why Not Me?” Is the Wrong Question?
What if “Why not me?” is the wrong question? A chip on your shoulder can take you far, but surrendering your plans to God gives what you build a foundation strong enough to stand.
We all believe motivation helps us.
We see someone accomplish something we want to accomplish.
We see that it’s possible.
And eventually we start asking ourselves:
Why not me?
That’s the statement I want to challenge.
Not because I don’t think you should believe you’re capable of doing difficult things.
But because I think we need to ask where that belief is coming from.
Where do most of us get our motivation?
We work to prove people wrong.
We work to prove something to ourselves.
We decide we’re going to become the person we think we deserve to be.
And sometimes we become so determined to get there that we stop paying attention to who we leave behind along the way.
I know because I’ve done it.
A chip on your shoulder can take you pretty far.
But it can also harden your heart.
It can burn bridges.
It can make every accomplishment feel like evidence in a case you’ve been building against everyone who ever doubted you.
And eventually I think we have to ask a much harder question:
Who do I actually have faith in besides myself?
For me, the answer is Jesus Christ.
I know that’s the point where some people will roll their eyes.
That’s okay.
Truth doesn’t need me to force it on anyone.
It will take root when it’s supposed to.
But I’ve learned that it’s actually easier to build your life around proving people wrong.
What’s harder is moving forward with a loving heart.
It’s harder to forgive the people who doubted you.
It’s harder to stop needing everyone to see what you become.
It’s harder to pray, seek God through His Word, make space for His voice instead of your own, and be willing to accept that His will for your life might look different from the one you imagined.
That requires something a chip on your shoulder never will.
Surrender.
I know that’s not what all of us want to hear.
But I can tell you from the other side, with my hand out instead of my finger pointed:
It’s much more worth it.
You can accomplish incredible things.
You can become more disciplined.
You can build.
You can create.
You can succeed.
But eventually you have to decide what all of it is standing on.
Because what you build is only as strong as the foundation underneath it.
Maybe the question isn’t:
Why not me?
Maybe it’s:
God, what do You want to do through me?