God provides all people with access to his influence, which will quietly but consistently whisper that there is something much better and much greater for you than what you presently have and are. Your capacity to contribute to this world is a fundamental part of your joy. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17) You ignore your potential at your own peril, with steep consequences that range across all aspects of this life and after.
Normal dogs were bred to be low-intelligence but affectionate companions. Sled dogs were bred to pull a burden for miles and miles every day. They are energetic and intelligent animals. When put into the situations they were designed for, they are happy and capable of deep bonds with humans. When you cage or confine a sled dog, depriving it of the duties it was born to do, it gets anxious, mean, and destructive. Like a sled dog, you were designed for abnormal tasks. Like a sled dog, you will be miserable if you do not live the purpose for which you were born.
Your conscience will drive you to do all you can. You will never have peace or contentment while you are doing less than you are able.
Great mental unrest is caused by an uncalibrated sense of responsibility. Depression stems from recognizing that there is something much better and much greater for you without having the tools to articulate or achieve those improvements. Anxiety stems from attempting to fulfill this visceral urge through ineffectual means (e.g., things outside of your control). Anxiety is remitted by explicitly evaluating the efficacy of potential actions and learning to replace unfruitful actions with fruitful ones. Depression is remitted by choosing a purpose and finding means to work toward it.
Of final note is the importance of realizing that, though you can run from your destiny, life has a way of helping it find you. In one instructive story, Jesus led Peter to walk out onto the water with him. Figuratively speaking, most Christians sit in a boat still sitting on the shore and claim they hold all the benefits God bestows to those who love him. Were you to pull their boat even into the shallows—as life always finds a way of doing—they would find everything that brings them peace in their simple situations to be insufficient for the chaos life provides. Meanwhile, those who actually believe God and follow him will find him taking them by the hand, leading them by foot on the water to the roughest seas. For them, there is no question of what God’s power is. Without it, they would instantly sink. They have no illusions about what God provides them in life, and they would never find themselves describing their lives as normal.
You were not created to be acted upon. You were created to act. Do not waste away the opportunities before you. You are a child of God. Do not squander your inheritance. Rise up and claim it!