What can stop me from reaching my potential?
1 Samuel 8:3They [Samuel’s sons] were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.
Ezekiel 33:25“So tell these people, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You eat meat with blood in it, you worship idols, and you murder the innocent. Do you really think the land should be yours?’”
Hosea 9:10The Lord says, “O Israel, when I first found you, it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season. But then they deserted me for Baal-peor, giving themselves to that shameful idol. Soon they became vile, as vile as the god they worshiped.”
Ephesians 5:5You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
2 Peter 2:12-19You are a slave to whatever controls you.
Wasted potential is tragic. We are created in the image of a loving and holy God, with the potential to reflect his goodness and grace. We begin to develop our spiritual potential when we recognize the damaging impact of our sinful nature and ask Jesus for forgiveness. The Bible promises that when we give Jesus control of our life, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our heart. The Spirit then begins the work of helping us reach the spiritual potential for which we were created—to become more like Jesus and to use our spiritual gifts to help others. Deciding not to follow Jesus is deciding not to live toward the potential for which we were created.
Genesis 17:17Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?”
Exodus 3:11Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
Exodus 4:1, 10, 13Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?” . . . But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” . . . But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”
Numbers 13:27-29, 31-33This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. . . . We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites.
1 Samuel 9:20-21“I [Samuel] am here to tell you that you and your family are the focus of all Israel’s hopes.” Saul replied, “But I’m only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! Why are you talking like this to me?”
Jeremiah 1:6-8“O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Thinking our potential is based on and dependent on what we can do for ourselves (in contrast to what God can do through us) will prevent us from reaching it. Reticence or humility before God when he has equipped or called us for service reveals we have temporarily forgotten that God actually knows us completely and sees right through any attempt on our part to avoid what he wants to accomplish through us.
Proverbs 3:28If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.”
Proverbs 12:11A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies has no sense.
When we can meet a need, we must never hesitate to do so. Procrastination or laziness can hinder our potential. Who we will become is a by-product of what we do today. Don’t waste the day.
Matthew 5:13-16“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
Luke 19:26“‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.’”
2 Peter 1:5-9Make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
Continually seek God’s help in identifying the potential he has built into you, the opportunities he has placed before you, and the places he has called you to serve him. Encourage others rather than comparing yourself to them, and seek to make progress in God’s sight each day.
