I Was Born For This

There are few more powerful words a person can say to himself than these: “I was born for this.” The sheer force of believing such a thing, the galvanizing strength it brings to all the currents of life, makes it a certainty we should settle for ourselves once and for all.

It is primarily a spiritual belief, of course. To conclude that we were born for a moment in time and for a given purpose requires that we believe in a God who decides such things. It means recognizing that we aren’t accidents, that our lives aren’t ruled by chance alone. We accept that there was a determination before we were born. We recognize the work of a Chooser.

Deciding that this is true changes everything. We look at our otherwise terrifying world, and though we might be a bit daunted by it, we need not fear or cower from it. We were born for this. We think of our past failures, and we might grieve over them, but they do not destroy us. We get better. We rise anyway. We were born for this. We think about our obstacles and our enemies, and we are sobered, but we are also aware that overcoming them isn’t up to us alone. We were born for this. Someone is with us.

It is a belief that inspires greatness. Churchill believed it. He once said, “Over me beat unseen wings.” He told the British people they were destined for victory. They believed him—because they were. Dr. King believed it. He told the nation God was thrusting a great reckoning upon it and that the hour of justifying the promises of the founders had come. It had. The Apostle Paul, Augustine, Alfred the Great, Martin Luther, Elizabeth I, John Wesley, William Wilberforce, George Washington, Abigail Adams, Sojourner Truth, Abraham Lincoln, Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Golda Meir—in short, millions since and before have believed it. It is why we know their names. It is why they lived exceptional lives.

We are tempted in our angry, swirling age to wish we lived at some other time. We are tempted to live in a pleasure bubble and to daily hope no horrors intrude. It isn’t enough. Not if we are capable of believing, “I was born for this.”

Those words, that faith, completely realign us to our world and even to our God. They make victories possible.

What do you believe?

That’s it. Have a wonderful weekend. And march on Fighting Irish of Notre Dame!

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