The conversation was pretty simple; what changes did my student have to make to start cashing in on his potential?
These changes were not rocket science by any stretch of the imagination but…… did he really want to see change?
He said, “Well, I could change but I don’t think I’m there yet”, said the young man whose life had been sitting in Stuck.
Forward Friday is a challenge that in any phase of life, there is potential for growth and to expand our horizons, but it will take some movement forward; taking a chance to believe that what we have on the inside can grow if we step out of the boat of keeping or playing it safe.
There are things in all of us that are waiting to come out for our good and for the good of others; we must Step Out and Into Whatever those things are to see it become a reality.
Let’s Get Into This:
We Have Potential: we may not always realize it but we do. Many times, we defer to someone thinking that they (whoever they are) have the gifts, talents and abilities to make a difference in their spheres of influence but us? Well, we’re not so sure about that but………
The truth is, we all have untapped potential and abilities; some have multiple gifts and some of us have a few but what makes the difference is not in the quantity of gifts but the unearthing and utilizing of said gifts.
The difference is not in the quantity of gifts but the unearthing and utilizing of said gifts.
I remember a man from our church who, when I was 13 years old would often say to my dad that I had so much potential. I couldn’t grasp the extent of what he was saying at that age but as I’ve gotten older, I see that it was not enough to just talk about potential but to do something with what we have in our hands.
It's amazing how many gifted people there are who just sit on the sidelines of life and do so little with what we’ve been blessed with.
I’ll take it a step further and say that we are all gifted and yet for whatever reason(s), some never or rarely take a step forward to use the gift(s) we’ve been blessed with because we don't believe we're gifted in the first place. Are we one of those?
The truth is, each of us have been given a gift or gifts loaded with talents and abilities. But until we see ourselves the way God sees us and have the trust to believe that we can use our gifts for good, chances are pretty good that we won't live up to our God-given potential.
I know of a family friend who has struggled with her health recently so it’s been hard to do some of the cool things she has been able to do over the years.
I was over a few months ago and she was baking up a storm.
Her words: “Well, I have this gift to bake so I bake and bless people through the goodies I make!” Wow, what do we do when life throws some twists at us? We still have options if we only look past the present.
"I have this gift to bake so I bake and bless people through the goodies I make!”
We may be struggling with low self-esteem, poor self-image and lacking confidence, but we need to know that God created us with amazing potential.
Stop Consulting/referring to our fears but lean into our hopes and our dreams. It’s time to stop lamenting/grieving/mourning over our frustrations but digging deep into our unfulfilled potential. While hard, maybe it’s time to put into the rearview mirror the things we tried and failed in, and look forward with what is still possible for us to do.
He said it: “Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking our potential.” Winston Churchill.
Some Good Medicine For The Weekend…..
I was named after David in the Bible. His life and story, while he had some losses, had more wins because of taking a chance on his potential.
Some Highlights:
Most people know of David vs Goliath and the stone that knocked the giant out Stone cold dead but there’s a back story to the main event and the main event doesn’t happen without the back story.
David’s on the back side of the field. Will he ever come out from the background? He's just tending the sheep; where’s the glamour in that but he’s doing it well and honing his craft…
He’s in the back somewhere; I mean he’s the youngest and his brothers are the deal; army men, people look up to them, but do they even know he’s in the field?
But he is doing some amazing things in the background: he’s taken out bears and lions who tried to take his sheep so he’s becoming battle tested even when no one knows he is.
So many times, people will feel like we can’t be used because we’re in the back, no one even sees us, But God gets and is able to use some of his best from the back. The humble, the hard working, the diligent.
Many times, being faithful in what we have in our hands, to grow and hone what we have will at a certain point create promotion or growth in more gifting's because we didn’t just sit on what we had or have.
Sometimes, to see great potential materialize, we have to jump into the game of life no matter where we are and with what we have in our hands.
David just wanted to get in the game. Wanting to get to the front of the battle and he gets the cart with the cheese to bring to the front lines of the battle. He could have said that he was above bringing cheese and someone else should have brought it but is not any job we have, any calling, any gifting less noble than another?
We as people many times give others more due because we “Think” what they have or what they do is more noble than what we do or have.
Every gift, every ability is noble and worthy of respect and honor.
So many times, we are not happy with what’s in our cart of life but if we could see that maybe the cart is our vehicle for greater growth, we may just stop arguing or complaining about what’s in the cart and get going.
The cheese gives us something to talk about so to speak but we have to get to the battle so we have something to say when it’s our time.
Just because Bob/Sue rolled up in a Cadillac doesn’t mean that for me/us rolling up in a compact car means we are less or not worthy of a gifting's explosion….
David had something he believed in and this something got him upset. Wouldn’t let this evil destroy his community. Something to stand for even in himself.
His cheese now means something because he had been developing his shepherding and hospitality gifts and because he was utilizing his present gifts and potential, it got him ready for the next phase of growth and elevation.
This is exciting!!
So his potential for the new thing in his life doesn’t happen if he didn’t appreciate and used what was in his hand. Didn’t know he was Anointed to throw the stone but because he was exercising faith to believe in his present and future, a crazy miracle happened.
Stop worrying about the throw, just throw.
It may be natural to be nervous, afraid, what if we make a mistake but there are times when we need to stop worrying about the throw and just throw.
Potential at a certain point can only be realized by making a choice to take a chance to see change come!
So A Couple Of Takeaways:
Remember, "all things are possible with God." When we put our confidence in Him, we will be free to live up to our potential.
I’ve said this many times to myself and this could be you: I’ve often said, “God, help me to see myself through Your eyes, with the gifts and talents You've given me. I believe that You made me with great potential because You are a great God. Today, I put my confidence in You and believe that all things are possible with You!”
To me, that gives me not only great comfort but takes the pressure off to be superman but also to take a chance for change and growth!
When we trust God and believe we can do whatever He says we can do, we can fulfill His destiny for our life.
Walking daily into my potential; will you walk with me???
Dave
Commenti