The Extra Mile: A 5-Day Devotional on Finding Faith and Purpose by Evan CraftNäide

Day 1: I Thought Success Would Satisfy

The night I played in front of 80,000 people in Bogotá, I thought I had arrived. Years of songwriting, touring, and praying had led to this. But as I looked over the crowd, tears filled my eyes, and not because I was moved by success. I felt empty.

That night, I faced a truth I hadn’t wanted to admit: I had everything I thought I wanted, and it wasn’t enough. My heart wasn’t full. My soul wasn’t satisfied. Something was off. I didn’t feel alive. I felt…lost.

In my confusion of the days that followed, I talked with my friend Paul. He told me again about a cross-country bike ride he had done to raise money for clean water and how that ride changed his life. I realized instantly that I wanted something like that. Not more applause, but more meaning. A mission.

God often uses our emptiness to wake us up. That conversation with Paul was the beginning of my journey back to purpose—and to Him.

The Extra Mile Challenge: What are you chasing today that may never satisfy? Could God be calling you into something deeper?