How can we discover and come to understand our potential?

Romans 12:3Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.

Our full potential has to do with what God can do through us, not what we can do by ourselves. Healthy self-esteem is an honest self-appraisal—not too proud because of the gifts and abilities God has given us, yet not so self-effacing that we fail to use our gifts and abilities to their full potential for God’s glory.

Romans 8:29God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

You have the potential to be like Jesus and minister under the power of the same Spirit that energized him. You can begin by getting to know Jesus and his teachings as recorded in the Bible. Ask for God’s help and for the guidance of other believers as you seek to identify and use the gifts he has given you.

Ephesians 2:10We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

You have the potential to do the amazing things God has planned for you, if you only let him work through you. God’s plan includes a dynamic series of opportunities to serve him for good by serving others.