Live Up to Your Potential

     I once played on a team in a basketball league that went undefeated with a 16-0 record; even though it was the most competitive league in which I had ever played.  Our team had three things going for us.  We had players with a great amount of talent, we played exceptionally well together as a team, and most importantly the most talented and best overall basketball player I have ever seen, (professional or otherwise), was on the team. 

     He was in better shape than anyone in the entire league.  It wasn’t any big deal for him to run, yes, I mean run 5 miles to the gym, effortlessly play the entire full game and then run home.  He was 6’7” in a sculpted chiseled frame, with a vertical leap of 40 inches.  With catlike reflexes, the quickest guards in the league were shut down by his defense.  He passed like Magic Johnson and had a smooth, “silky” jump shot like Steph Curry that was consistently and extremely accurate from anywhere on the floor.  He literally had the potential to be one of the greatest basketball players ever to play the game.  He really was that good!  However, good as he was, and as much as he did enjoy playing hoops, he enjoyed drugs more.  A life of great potential and promise was literally wasted away by drugs and the lifestyle it brings.

     Each and every one of us has tremendous potential with the gifts, talents, and abilities which God has permanently placed on the inside of us.  He personally designed them to bless you and bring out the very best in you.  God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable – He never withdraws them once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call (Romans 11:29 AMP).  Let me emphasize – the gifts God has given you are irrevocable; which means they cannot be revoked, recalled, undone, or even altered.  In other words, you have this potential locked up inside you just waiting to burst forth into your life. God has placed these gifts in you which makes you a person of endless possibilities!  You have great potential!

That which is unreachable is exactly that which is possible! – Dennis Harworth

     Although God has placed absolutely amazing potential in your life, it is still up to you to fully develop that which might be dormant.  Take the opportunity to discover those deep divine desires and begin to live in fullness every day in full capacity of the blessings of God.  In order to make the most of life’s opportunity, the Lord gave me three points to share with you to help you - Live up to your potential:

·        REALIZE THE POWER WITHIN YOU

     God has placed in you His tremendous dunamis power to carry out His purpose and do superabundantly, far over and above all that we dare ask or think, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams (Ephesians 3:20 AMPC).  This dunamis power is a miraculous power that has the power to reproduce itself and bring about explosive mighty works.  You probably know that the English words dynamite and dynamic come from the root word dunamis.  But did you know that all the words in the Greek that derive from the stem duna- have the basic meaning of being able or capable?  Think about it, when you realize God’s Almighty power is within you, nothing is impossible!  See yourself capable of fulfilling everything God has planned for you – no matter how incredible it may seem.

Unless you see the ultimate, you will be enslaved by the immediate. – Tom Deuschle

·        RELEASE YOUR FAITH TO OBEY

     Faith is a practical expression of your confidence in God and in His Word.  Faith is believing the truth of the Word of God and acting on it.  Obedience is the supreme test of that faith in action.  When you release your faith to obey, you are trusting God with your situation (with your life) to do exactly what God says – His Will, His way.  In Job 36:11 it says if you obey and serve Him, you will spend your days in prosperity, and your years in pleasures.  When you obey God and His Word, you now have the ability and the potential to be a partaker of His divine nature that will fulfill all that God has called you to be.

Obedience to God is always for our good and His glory. – Dennis Harworth

·        RESIST THE URGE TO QUIT

     You will never live up to your potential if you give up, cave in, or quit.  Of course it won’t be easy to hang in there, but resist the urge to quit anyway. You probably have heard it said that “Quitters never win, and winners never quit”.  God’s Word says if you are born of God your faith gives you the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4).  Why would you quit if you know you are going to win?  Don’t talk yourself into giving up or letting others convince you to quit by stopping short of reaching your full potential. 

Almighty God has given you something that only you can do. – Dennis Harworth

     What God has placed in you is infinitely beyond all that you could ask or think.  You have greatness stored up in you waiting to display your God-given gifts, talents, and abilities. Therefore, realize His power, release your faith, and then refuse to quit in order to see God’s glorious plan fulfilled in your life as you:    

LIVE UP TO YOUR POTENTIAL!