The potential of colors bursting forth from green fields gets me excited every year. It is one of the great joys of the emerging summer. Potential, having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future, is also one of the great joys of being human!
Every person has been gifted by God and only God knows the potential of each person. It is all in the mind of God, the dream of God. The beautiful thing is God created each of us with our unique potential in mind and God is there to help us reach it. Just as God will never ask more from us than we are created to be, we can never ask God for more than He is able to do.
Our potential is not for us to discover and grow into on our own, but with God. We hear in Hebrews that “without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (11:6). It turns out our greatest potential is found in God!
Most of us, I am the foremost expert at this, tend to think too modestly, to reach too lowly, to pray too small, to ask too little. We tend to think God can only do great things with and for others, but not for me. This kind of thinking limits what God can do in and through us. It is as if we tie God’s hands and keep God from being God. It also keeps us from reaching our potential. Remember, “nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).