A number of years ago, a friend of mine put her hand over her heart and asked me, “Do you ever feel like there’s more?”

When I was a teenager, one of my jobs was working at a fast food restaurant. My job was mostly cleaning and emptying the garbage. I remember exactly where I was in the dining area one day when I thought, “I won’t always be doing this.” I knew in my heart I was made for more.

During my freshman year at Cornell (yes, the place Andy from “The Office” went), I went to a party one night (yes, they do party at Ivy League schools) and remember thinking, “This must be what life is all about.” My heart was searching for more, but it was being fooled into thinking it would be satisfied with just having a good time.

It wasn’t until a few months later that I discovered what my heart had been searching for. I met a guy who explained that God loved me and had a plan for my life, but that because I, along with the rest of humanity, had turned my back on Him (that’s called “sin”), I couldn’t experience the life God had for me.

He went on to explain that the only way to know God’s love and plan was to have my sin forgiven. And the only way for that to happen was to place my faith in Jesus, who had already taken the punishment I deserved.

I’d never heard anyone explain all that, but it made complete sense to me. That day in February 1982, in the student union at Cornell, I placed my faith in Christ. He forgave my sin. And I began a friendship with Him.

And I’ve never been the same.

Well, almost.

There’s no doubt my life is different. I was changed that day. I know it. I feel it. I believe it.

And yet, there are days where I experience a vague unease. I feel unsatisfied. I find myself wondering, “Is this it? I think I was made for more.”

Do you wonder too? Do you feel it? Do you know in your heart you were made for more?

You were. So was I.

God didn’t create the universe, set things in motion and then step away–leaving us to fend for ourselves. He didn’t put us here and then expect to not be involved, intimately, in our lives. It’s not God’s plan to play a minor role, some supporting character in the story.

You and I were made to live in friendship with the One who made us. That was the original plan. That’s the point. That’s the “more” we all long for.

But things got all tangled up and confused when our parents, Adam and Eve, decided to do their own thing. Now instead of looking to God for love and significance, we tend to look for those things in the wrong places. We think a boyfriend or girlfriend, a spouse or a child will provide us with what we long for. And if it’s not a relationship, then it’s our work or our money. Or what our money can buy. Oh, by the way, it’s not “our” money anyway, but we don’t have time for that now.

It’s not just our relationship with God that got messed up, it’s this world, too. This world is under the dominion of a rebel angel. We call him Satan, but he’s also known by Appolyon (Greek) and Abbadon (Hebrew). Both names mean the same thing: Destroyer.

Destroyer has dominion over this world. I don’t understand all the reasons why God allows that to be so. Maybe it’s because God gave us the responsibility to rule over His creation for Him, but instead of ruling under God’s authority, we also rebelled. Did that transfer authority over the earth to Satan for a period of time?

Stick with me for another moment. This is all about to tie together.

My oldest daughter is married to a Marine. If he’s not deployed somewhere, then he’s in training. Demanding training. It’s hard, hard work. And it’s hard on my daughter when her husband is way for days, weeks or months at a time.

My second daughter’s boyfriend is currently in Army basic training at Fort Benning. His plan is to move onto a qualifying course to get into Special Forces. Recently, we’ve been watching some reality shows about the guys who are trying to get into the various elite military units, like Special Forces and Marine Recon.

If you’ve seen any of these shows, you know how brutal the training can be. These guys are constantly hungry and sleep deprived. They’re pushed to their physical, emotional and mental limits for weeks.

So why do they do it? What keeps them going?

The recurring theme I see is this: they know they were made for more. They want to be the best. They want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

And so they’re willing to endure whatever they have to.

We were not only created to live in friendship with God, but we are also tasked with recapturing enemy territory by living according to God’s plan and introducing others to Him. That means that your marriage, your family, your time in college, your relationships, your work, your everything is being lived out in the midst of a war zone. A war being fought over the souls of men and women.

If you’re a college student–you’re in the battle. Your choices matter. Fight against the enemy who will continually tempt you. We need you to fight. Don’t give up. Don’t become a casualty.

If you’re married, then remember this–your spouse is not your enemy. Your spouse is your partner and fellow soldier. Stop pointing your weapons at each other and train them on the enemy instead. Lock arms and let’s go. We need you to fight. Don’t give up.

If you’re a part of a church that’s got problems (ah, that’s all of them), then help be the solution. Stop complaining. Stop pointing fingers. There’s too many people who are dying out there. We need you to fight with us, not against us.

You were made for more. You were made to live in friendship with the One who created you and you’ve been called to fight in this war. The enemy is unseen, but he’s real and he’s furious. Destroyer will not go down without a fight. Count on it.

Are you bored? Nothing satisfies? Feel like there has to be more?

Well, there is more.

Maybe you’ve just been looking for life in the wrong places. It doesn’t just happen to those who don’t know Christ, it happens to His followers, too.

Try turning your full attention on God. Get to know Him and discover your role in the war.

We need you.