Maximise your potential

Potential is dormant ability, and it must be exercised to flourish. A good example of ability flourishing through exercise is Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. She has taken what was within her from birth and disciplined, moulded and stretched it to achieve much more.

Similarly, when God created Adam, He planted in him the potential to subdue, rule over, and care for the earth and everything in it. His potential was predetermined by his purpose. Adam had inside him all the potential necessary to fulfil his assignment, but he wasn’t aware of his potential, even as we may not be aware of what we can do.

God put a demand on the potential of Adam’s mind by commanding him to name the animals and stimulated the potential of his body by commanding him to cultivate the garden. He gave Adam insight into the potential of his spirit by commanding him to dominate the whole earth for God’s glory.

Work is a major key to releasing our potential. Simply claiming a promise does not make it happen; we must apply the principle of work. The land was promised to the children of Israel, but they had to walk it out to possess it (Deuteronomy 11:24). Good ideas do not bring success; hard work does. To release our true potential, we must therefore be willing to work.

In addition to work we must be willing to share our potential. God created the heavens and the earth to operate on this principle. Potential can only be fulfilled when it is shared. Nature abounds with this truth. The sun does not exist for itself. Plants release oxygen for us, and we in turn provide carbon dioxide for plants. Bees receive nectar as they pollinate flowers. There’s no potential that exists for itself.

This is also true of human potential. The true measure of its fulfilment is not what is accomplished, but who receives benefit from the accomplishment. Our deposit was given to enrich and inspire the lives of others. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” 1 Corinthians 12:6 (NIV).

We also need to surround ourselves with people who will encourage our potential. If we’re among people who don’t have a good word to say or who can’t lift us up when we’re down, we should separate ourselves from them. We should spend time with positive people who encourage and pick us up when times are rough. Proverbs 23:7 tells us “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he is”. God wants us to fulfil our potential. We will not have the life He designed us without walking in the potential He has given us, and He holds us accountable for that.

At the end of our lives on earth we will stand before God, and He’s going to evaluate how well each of us fulfilled our purpose. At that point, all our excuses will sound hollow: “I was too busy” or “I was preoccupied with working, having fun, or preparing for retirement.”All excuses will be the wrong answer. We need to understand that God created, saved, and called us for His purposes.

We need to cultivate our potential like a seed. It is a hidden ability that needs to be cultivated. We must feed it with the fertiliser of positive company, give it the environment of encouragement, drench it with the water of God’s Word and bathe it in the sunshine of personal prayer. Add to it things that stimulate faith and nourish dreams and be all that God purposed you to be.