In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter’s magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target.
But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter’s immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; and Neptune at nearly three billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun.
And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. "Perhaps most remarkable," writes Jaroff, "those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth."
That satellite wasn’t supposed to do what it did. It was built to last 3 years... it went over 25. It’s 8-watt transmitter... underpowered even at its launch... continued sending signals and data back to Earth at an unexpected rate. Tiny power... big results.
If it had disintegrated after it’s expected 3 years, we would have lamented it’s demise but applauded it’s efforts. After all, that’s what it was supposed to do. Launch...Jupiter data... done. But it didn’t. It kept going. Never quitting. Always pushing ahead.
So many of us have settled for what others have told us we’re designed for...
You are average
You are ordinary
You are plain
You are medium
Do what you get to do in your life... but don’t expect much more...
You’ll never make it.
You don’t have the contacts...the skill set...
The dream is dead... buried... disintegrated
Don’t listen to them. Keep going. Push past the limits others put on you. Go beyond people’s expectations and prove to the world that God knows far better than anyone what you are capable of.
The engineers at NASA built Pioneer 10 for three years of usefulness. It went thirty...
You were built by the Creator of the Universe for a lifetime of excellence... and have the opportunity to spend an eternity in His presence.
It doesn’t matter where they say you should stop.
It doesn’t matter if they think you’ll never make it.
It doesn’t matter what others say about your dream.
It doesn’t matter how young or old you are...what your past looked like...or their definition of your success.
It matters where you are headed and what it would take to stop you.
“So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.” Galatians 6:9
Stop at nothing.
Keep going.
Blessings are coming.
Don’t quit.
