Mike Taylor

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Tag: Dreams

  • Can I be ambitious and still follow God’s will?

    We all have things we want to accomplish. We all have ambition.

    Ambition is simply the tension between where we want to get and where we’re currently at.

    Whether we realize it or not, our worldviews, our beliefs, and our actions all flow from our ambitions. 

    And God is okay with that.

    In fact, he ordains and blesses ambition.

    From the beginning of time, God created an ideal for mankind.

    He said he put mankind on the earth to watch over it and to keep it – to serve it and protect it. 

    Being in God’s presence drove ambition in its purest form.

    It was only when our ambition drifted away from God’s ambition for us that things got out of order.

    There are essentially two types of ambition: 

    • Selfish ambition
    • Selfless ambition

    Selfish ambition primarily helps us but can also benefit others.

    Selfless ambition primarily helps others but can also benefit us.

    The determining factor between selfish and selfless ambition is submission.

    Submission is what keeps ambition in check.

    God desires for his people to prosper.

    Deuteronomy 30:8-9 says, “You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands […] Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands”. 

    This promise of prosperity is repeated over and over again throughout Scripture. 

    One of my favorite examples of the promise of prosperity is in Leviticus chapter 26. 

    God is telling the Israelites that if they will obey Him then He will make them exceedingly and abundantly comfortable and successful. 

    He says things like, “you will eat all the food you want” and “I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers”. 

    It’s very difficult to read through the entire Bible and maintain the belief that God is not on a very direct mission to fulfill our ambitions and bless others through us.

    But the beautiful thing is, every good thing God gives to us is only available through submission to Him. 

    And therein lies the great dichotomy of submission and ambition. 

    Our truest and purest ambitions are only fulfilled when we give them up and trust them to God. 

    Submission to God is trusting Him, rather than ourselves, to fulfill our desires.

    Submission, then, isn’t choosing something less than what we want because someone else said so; it’s choosing to allow God to fulfill our God-centered ambitions for both ourselves and for others.

    Ambition is not something to be feared. 

    Ambition in submission to God is an expression of faith. 

    Whenever we shy away from ambition, we’re playing it safe.

    We either don’t believe we have what it takes or we can’t trust God for it.

    So we put on a mask of fear and call it contentment.

    Fighting the fight of faith involves pressing into ambition while maintaining submission to God. 

    This is the call on all our lives, not just some. 

    Many people live in fear because they misunderstand contentment. 

    When Paul writes, “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6), he’s teaching Timothy to find all he needs in God alone regardless of circumstances.

    He’s teaching him to lack nothing (Psalm 23).

    When you lack nothing, ambition becomes a way for your blessings to become other people’s blessings. (Genesis 12:2)

    Paul repeatedly encouraged Timothy to use his gifts while also not getting caught up in needing acceptance or worldly wealth.

    This is a perfect picture of ambition under submission.

    Just before the verse where Paul talks about contentment, he says this to Timothy:

    “…devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you…” (1 Timothy 4:13-14). 

    He’s telling him to step into his gifts instead of shying away from them.

    In the first chapter of Paul’s second letter to Timothy, Paul tells him, “…fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:6-7). 

    We love quoting that verse, but the fear that Paul was specifically targeting was the fear of using ambition for God’s glory.

    Fear leads us to shrink into the shadows and call it contentment.

    God calls us to step out of our comfort zone to use the gifts and talents as an expression of faith. 

    And in that process we grow closer to God. Because it requires cultivating ambition and giving it to God through submission.

  • When does preparation become avoidance?

    One of the biggest misconceptions created by personal development culture is that we always need just a little more.

    Just a little more experience or knowledge, then we’ll be ready to face what we’re afraid of.

    Through this lens, fear is something we can overcome with preparation.

    But what we’re often saying is, “I’m not sure this will work out, so I’m going to delay it.”

    And we end up feeding the fear that’s keeping us from taking action.

    You’ll never be fully ready and you’ll never out-prepare fear. 

    You’ll never have enough knowledge or money or experience.

    The only way to overcome irrational fear is to plan and take action quickly.

    Knowledge can only go so far in overcoming a lie. 

    Fear cannot always be circumnavigated or overcome. 

    Most of the time you just have to go through it.

    So the question is, what stopped you?

    Was it really a roadblock? 

    Or were you delaying uncertainty?

    Maybe you should do it anyway.

  • When should I expect God to provide?

    Where there’s limited vision, there’s limited provision.

    God will not provide where there’s no pursuit.

    When Abraham called God “Jehovah Jireh” – which means “The LORD Who Provides” – the literal meaning of the Hebrew word for Jireh is “to see” (Genesis 22:14).

    It’s the same word used to describe when God created the Earth and “saw” that it was good.

    His vision led to his provision.

    Prophets in the Old Testament were called “seers”. The Hebrew word for “seer” comes from the same word that was used to describe God as Jehovah Jireh.

    What the prophet saw, God provided.

    In order to get God’s provision, it was important to first seek God’s vision.

    We’ve carried the same idea into our English language.

    The English word for “provide” comes from two Latin words that literally mean:

    • “Pro-” – to come before, prepare, or make way for something
    • “Videre” – to see

    Together, “provide” literally means “to make way” for “something that has been seen”.

    If provision is stagnant, it’s worth asking yourself how resolute you are in the vision.

    Is it vague? Is it hazy? Can you only sort of see it through a mental cloud?

    Visions are outcomes, not detailed plans.

    You don’t need all the facts, but you do need a destination.

    If you can’t see it, it might be time to seek after it.

    Follow me here…

    Matthew reminds us to seek the Kingdom of God first, then provision comes. (Matthew 6:33)

    The Kingdom of God is union with Jesus. (John 17:21, John 15:4)

    And union with Jesus comes with revelation – which is vision. (John 14:21, John 10:27, John 16:13, James 1:5, Isaiah 30:21)

    Union leads to vision which leads to provision.

    It makes sense when you break it down.

    Without vision, we’re wandering aimlessly.

    And wandering aimlessly is unproductive and wasteful.

    So why would a good God pour resources into aimless, wasteful wandering?

    When the Israelites were wandering in the desert, he gave them very simple provisions – manna every day.

    In fact, they complained about the provision so much that they missed the fact that they had rejected the vision.

    If you remember, the vision was the Promised Land – which was flowing with milk and honey and fruit.

    They reached the Promised Land within a couple of years of leaving Egypt, but because they failed to see the vision, they wandered.

    And because of their wandering, their provision was limited.

    Which leads us back to this:

    Where there’s limited vision, there’s limited provision.

    God doesn’t bless short-sightedness.

    Proverbs 29:18 tells us where there is no vision, the people will cast off restraint.

    The word for vision here means mental sight or revelation from God.

    The word for “cast off restraint” means to let loose of the boundaries of an ordained covering.

    When we stop seeking vision, we’re letting go of the intended provision.

    We suffer from short-sightedness.

    In 2 Peter 3, the apostle Peter addresses short-sighted people:

    He says, ‘They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he [Jesus] promised? […] 

    Then he says, “But they deliberately forget […]’”

    They abandoned the vision because they had forgotten God’s faithfulness to see them through what seemed unlikely.

    And in doing so, they rejected the provision of hope, joy, and peace along with the tangible provisions needed to get them through to the destination.

    So if you find yourself lacking, it might be worth asking if you’re still on track.

    Are you seeking his voice?

    And are you laying down selfish ambition?

    If so, provision is coming.

    If not, it might be waiting for you somewhere else.

  • You’re not stuck (read this before you quit your job)

    “I hate my job.”

    Okay. Fair. We’ve all been there.

    But let’s clear something up:

    You’re not stuck. You’re building.

    Every meeting, every task, every moment you grit your teeth—you’re laying the foundation for the house you’ll live in tomorrow.

    The question is: will you be proud of it?

    There’s an old story about a carpenter who wanted to retire.

    His boss asked him to build one last house.

    He was ready to leave, so he rushed it. He cut corners. He stopped caring.

    When he finished, the boss handed him the keys:

    “This is your house – a final gift from me to you.”

    He was crushed.

    If he had known he was building for himself, he would’ve done it differently. Now he was stuck with a shoddy house he built for himself.

    Spoiler: The carpenter is you.

    You’re building your future habits, reputation, relationships, and mindset.

    Not someday. Now.

    Hating your job doesn’t make you stuck. Checking out does.

    So show up. Listen, learn, grow, build well. Even here – especially here.

    Because one day, the keys are handed back.

    And you’ll have to live in what you built.

  • The false path to fulfilled dreams

    College used to be marketed as being “for everyone”.

    It still is today to some degree (see what I did there 😉).

    That “mistruth” is more false now than it’s ever been.

    College can be one of the best experiences a young person has, especially if they go in with a plan.

    I’m very glad that doctors, engineers, lawyers, and scientists go to college.

    But having a plan and using college as a springboard to a successful career is not the norm.

    One survey found that a third of American adults had no plan after graduation.

    Another study found that about half of all bachelor’s degree graduates end up in a job that doesn’t require a college degree.

    Meanwhile, college graduates, on average, leave school with $38,000 in student loan debt.

    Most kids sign up for college, agree to pay the massive bill, then try to figure it out while they’re there. And sadly, almost half of them don’t (40% don’t graduate).

    College has become this place to extend high school and delay adulthood. And it’s not hard to understand why.

    We ask 18-year-olds to pick a major, choose a career path, and invest thousands upon thousands of dollars in a decision they don’t fully understand yet.

    And even if they do it right, there’s still one major skillset they probably won’t learn in college:

    How to solve real-world problems without a rulebook or a manual to follow.

    College teaches you how to research, write, show up on time, and follow instructions. 

    All of that has value, of course. 

    But real success – especially today – demands more. You have to know how to step into unclear situations and figure out what to do next.

    That’s rare today, and it’s because of how we teach our kids.

    It’s almost impossible to teach that in a classroom.

    Most college programs don’t regularly ask students to solve problems without a clear process. Students are taught to give the right answer, not find one on their own.

    But the people who build careers and lead teams and make things better are the ones who create solutions when there wasn’t a roadmap, not the ones who follow all the steps correctly.

    That doesn’t mean college is a waste. It has immense value for certain career paths. It just means there are huge gaps between what’s efficient for grading and what’s effective in the real world.

    And the truth is, we desperately need more problem solvers than we need rule followers.