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A year ago, Lee DeWyze was just a normal guy working at a paint shop in a small town. Ironically, the "prospects" for significance for the guy from "Mount Prospect," Illinois were not very good. But a little show called "American Idol" changed all that. Last night, Lee went from being a painter from a small town to the 9th champion of American Idol.

But what about all those years Lee spent as a son, a student, and a "working stiff" like the rest of us? Were those years of Lee's life "insignificant"? No way.

Humble beginnings are trademarks of a significant future.

Maybe you are on a path to great significance; but right now you're just a "painter" somewhere. God only knows what your future holds. If you feel insignificant where you find yourself in life, here's a word of encouragement:

Find significance in the seemingly insignificant periods of your life.

God knows exactly where you are right now; and He is using this time to prepare you for what's ahead. To get where He wants us to go, I think we need to learn to find significance wherever God puts us.

God found us so incredibly significant that He sent His only Son Jesus to die for our sin so we could have a right relationship with God the Father; and He rose from the grave so we could have an eternal hope beyond our wildest dreams.

So how do we do we find significance in the midst of seemingly insignificant things?

First, I don't have to win American Idol to be significant to God. Second, the Bible makes it pretty simple. James says "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

In other words, to find significance, James says start by helping the poor, oppressed, and working on your own heart. The poor and oppressed are near to God's heart.

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