When we realise our potential, we realise something new, and that is our ability to do great things. Imagine if we realise our potential in us, in Christ, how many great things can we do then?
I was at the park the other day, wondering why a frisbee gets larger and larger … and then it hit me. I’m just joking, but our thoughts are like this, they really are. We go about our own lives, walking in the park and whatever else it is that we do, and then, bang! These thoughts come into our mind and we find ourselves trapped under the shackles of our own disbelief in ourselves. We are not even lacking belief in the things we see, but we sometimes find ourselves disbelieving in our own abilities, in our own potential. These thoughts really hit us in the face. Thoughts like “you can’t do this” or “you can’t do that” or “you lack the ability.” These are the voices in our heads. One of my mentors always says, “some people have a whole committee in there.” During my primary education, this was something I really struggled with – I just didn’t believe in my abilities. During my primary school years, the only thing that grew was my feet, not even kidding. I used to be called big foot and I got called this all the time. Then one day, after I complained to one of my teachers about my experiences being bullied about my big feet, she responded, saying, “instead of complaining about the obvious, why don’t you use those big feet to your advantage, and try out swimming, or running or something?” I was amazed at her response, and how she saw potential in me. And so I did. I started getting into swimming. My parents bought me what I needed to give it a shot and I wasn’t too bad. She saw a potential in me. I played a lot of sport during my primary years, and then athletics came along. I tried out for shot put, and did okay, not that great, but good enough. I didn’t think I was that good, but the teacher who coached us saw something in me, took me aside and emphasized, “if you work hard on this, you will be the best.” He saw something in me that I didn’t, he saw potential in me. I tried harder and I started enjoying it. I remember, during this period of my life, I sometimes found myself waiting for mum at work. Mum used to work as an accounts manager for a paint company selling paints for large building and construction sites. The times I waited there, I always used to think of what to do to pass the time, and I remember this one time, I walked outside and I found this big rock, and I thought, “I could use that.” I picked it up and started practicing, throwing the heavy rock as far as I could. I tried again and again, to improve and get better. Someone saw potential in me, and then I realised that maybe I could do this. From this moment, I became the top shot put athlete in every school I attended, every year until grade 9, when I started being more academia focused and joined a maths and science school – no shot put happened there. A teacher saw my potential, and planted a seed in me, and I made a decision to nurture that seed, and the fruit came. I remember, in grade 5, we had a music class, but really it was just a singing class, and we would sing a number of songs. This one time, my music teacher called me out of my seat, and said, “you can sing, you have potential.” She got me to sing the song, “This Little Light of Mine” in front of the whole class – how embarrassing! Up until that point, I didn’t believe that I could sing. She saw a potential in me. From that point onwards, I believed in myself, and I sang my heart out.
The reality is, that just as my teachers during my younger years saw potential in me, so Christ sees potential in you. We have been called to a great level of capacity and ability in Christ Jesus. In Luke 12:7, the word says, “but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” You have been fearfully and wonderfully made in Christ Jesus for a time such as this.
"The limitation of your capacity exists when you coexist with your mind and its perception, rather than the inherent reality of who you are in Christ."
The time is now, for you, and for me, and for us together, to realise who we are in Christ; our potential and capability in Him, to do things that neither you nor I can imagine or even comprehend. There is a great calling for us to enter into, a greater blessing for us take a hold unto and a greater destination for us to run towards. My question is, are we entering in, are we taking a hold of that blessing, and are we running to that destination in Christ Jesus? We are more valuable than we can imagine because we are in Christ. Even our hairs are numbered. In other words, we are so valuable that not only have you and I been distinguished in Christ, but even our hairs are numbered. That is how valuable you and I are. When we go to the shops and we buy something new, whether that be a new television, a new couch, a new car, whatever it might be, it will lose value over time. It will deteriorate, it will become old, or quite simply, it will lose the value it once had. However, you and I, we are invaluable, we are so valued in Christ, that we are, as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” A new creation, and the old things have passed away! We are not something that loses value, we are His new creation. In Christ, we are always new. In Romans 6:4, we read, “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” A lot of times in our lives, we choose to live in the old things. We may have chosen to give our lives to Christ, but we aren’t walking in newness of life. But our reality should be different because we are called to walk in newness of life. There is a new blessing for you; a new calling for you; a new thing for you. It’s time to stop missing out on the new thing that Christ has for you, in Him. It’s time to take hold of it with both hands. No longer shall we be a people that live in the old things, but a people alive in Christ, in the new thing. The problem I see with many Christians is forgetfulness. We just keep on going on, and we forget exactly who we are, and who we are destined to be. When we forget our destiny, we forget our capacity, and when we forget our capacity, we forget the necessity of leniency on Christ’s sufficiency.
"The thing that limits our destiny is us, our belief in our limitation rather than a firm, faith filled belief in Christ’s lack thereof. Christ can do all things through us, but only if we let Him, if we let Him be a part of our lives."
For too long, Christians have identified their potential by listening to the motivational speakers of their age, or by concentrating on the words of those around them. It is time to walk in fullness of life, in newness of life, and in Christ Jesus. In Matthew 5:14, we read that we are “the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” But, wait a second, there is something that we need to do with our light – verse 16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” We have been created as a light, to be a light. We are blessed indeed, to be a blessing. We are created in Christ, to be Christ’s ambassador in the world. We are “a new creation” and the “old things have passed away.” For too long, Christians have placed their light “under a basket” – verse 15. It’s time for us to shine that light, to be that light in the world that we were created to be. Our calling in Christ is the brightest light, but we need to actually take it out of the basket and let it shine. No more keeping it locked away, no more keeping it safe for a rainy day. We can keep on trying to do things on our own, to be successful on our own, to gain the whole world, but what does it say in Mark 8:36? “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” No matter how much profit we might attain when we do it alone, no matter how much success we can have, and no matter how we might measure that success in the world, it is nothing in comparison to the fruit of labour in Christ Jesus. In Luke 1:37, we read about the power and majesty of God to do the impossible, “for with God nothing will be impossible.” This was said after Mary was told that she was going to give birth to a boy and His name was to be Jesus, the son of God, and Mary was to conceive in her womb through the power of the Holy Ghost. Mary struggled to believe it at first, but then, in verse 38, she said, “let it be to me according to your word.” With God, nothing is impossible, but we need to respond with action to His words and His powerful plans for us, and that is by saying, “let it be.”
"Our potential to do great things is reliant on us having the faith required to rely on Christ, and His power and majesty."
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