Your Hidden Potential

Has life become so filled with efforts to cover every financial contingency, to realize one's full earthly potential, and finally to retire comfortably, that without realizing it we are finding our hope in this world rather than in God?  Dave Hunt

In one of my previous devotionals I told you the story of a former boss of mine who, after turning in my resignation, told me I would never amount to anything.  At the time I was an impressionable college student and a people pleaser, so this was devastating to me. Looking back on that early experience, I can now see that this was the first step in me learning my hidden potential. 

Too many times in life we take others opinions of us and we accept them as truth.  If we look at it from a godly viewpoint, God is the only one who really knows our potential.  He created us so how could He not know what we are capable of. 

If you have ever had someone tell you that you will never amount to anything, or you are worthless you understand what I am saying.  The person who tells you that will never know what your potential is and often there is a hidden agenda behind that person’s words. 

Using the example I listed above, I can now see the hidden agenda behind my former bosses’ words.  She was angry because she had paid for me to go to training for merchandising the store where I worked.  I made a decision to do my internship at another store because the experience would be better for my degree.

 

God knows what our true potential is and he wants us to reach it.  We can strive all our lives for our earthly potential or God’s potential. How do we unlock God’s potential in our lives?

Studying God’s Word is the place to start. But all the reading and studying of His Word is not going to do us a bit of good if we don’t apply it to our life.  If I don’t live it then this amazing resource is wasted on identifying my hidden God-given potential.  God will reveal to us everything we need to know. 

One of the most interesting questions in the Bible comes from Matthew 13:10.  The disciples ask Jesus why he speaks in parables. The most profound statement is when Jesus replies, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  Matthew 13:10-13 

      

If we don’t have God in the form of the Holy Spirit living in us, we will never reach our full God-given potential.  We will never reach that goal if we don’t study the Bible, meditate on it and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us through it.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I can’t even begin to imagine what my true potential is unless I spend time with You in Your Word.  If I am more worried about my worldly potential I will never allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to me what God’s purpose is in my life.  Open my eyes and ears to see and hear so that I may reach my God-given potential.       

Scripture: But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

 

An Empty Vessel

Difficulties and obstacles are God's challenges to faith. When hindrances confront us in the path of duty, we are to recognize them as vessels for faith to fill with the fullness and all-sufficiency of Jesus.  A.B. Simpson

When I looked up the definition of vessel it means “a hollow container”.  We all are a vessel or a hollow container waiting to be filled. God can use all of us as a vessel to spread the Word of Jesus Christ, but we must choose to be that vessel. 

Today we are surrounded by things that can distract us from our true purpose in life.  There are all kinds of things that we can fill our vessel with that won’t ever benefit the Kingdom of Heaven.  When we are baptized into a new life with Him, we become a new vessel.

 

In the story of Elisha and the widow’s oil we get a picture of what type of vessel God wants us to be.  The story is about a widow whose husband died.  A creditor is on his way to take her two sons to be his slaves.  So she goes to Elisha to ask what she should do.  Elisha asks her “what do you have in the house? And she responds “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”  So Elisha tells her to go out and get as many empty jars as she can find and fill them with oil then set them aside. 

If you look at this story we see that the widow and her sons represent the world. Oil is traditionally used to symbolize the Holy Spirit.  The empty jars stand for those who refuse to believe in God.  You can see the same thing when Jesus told the disciples to go into the world and baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  (Matt. 28:19)

As long as the widow had empty jars the oil expanded to fill them.  As long as people come, there will be enough of the Holy Spirit to fill each of our vessels.  When we receive the Holy Spirit we are set apart just as Elisha told the widow to set aside the full jars.  Our past sins are forgiven and our debts are paid by Jesus death on the cross.

This is an example of salvation by grace, the remission of sin, the redemption of the soul and the gift of everlasting life.  Each one of us is a vessel waiting to be filled.  We can be born again, where our vessel is emptied of sin and refilled with the Holy Spirit.  

  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I praise You for giving each of us a way back to You through Jesus Christ.  I want to be a vessel that is filled with the Holy Spirit.  Help me to set aside anything that hinders me from showing others Who You really are.  

    

Scripture: Elisha and the Widow’s Oil

A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”

So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”

Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”

So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. ⁶ Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”

And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”  2 Kings 4:1-7

Mistakes & Experience

A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.  John C. Maxwell

We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience.  George Washington

Have you ever made a mistake?  All of us make mistakes.  It is part of who we are as fallen people living in a fallen world.  Jesus is the only man who lived on earth who was perfect.  Have you thought about the mistakes you’ve made in your life or are they long forgotten.

 

I am a firm believer in learning from my mistakes and I also learn from other people’s mistakes.  When I was young I was an observer.  I watched my siblings get in trouble and I learned what not to do.  I also learned from my own mistakes because when I did something and was punished, I learned from that experience not to do it again. 

Too many times I think we forget to look back on our mistakes as the learning tool they are and we miss the blessing God intended.  If you made mistakes in your life pull those mistakes off the shelf and examine them again.  Was there some benefit that you gained from the mistake?  Did it draw you closer to God?  Did it make you change something in your life that needed to be changed?  If you didn’t learn something from it, then you probably need to examine it again.

When you look back on the mistake, is there a pattern that continues in your life today.  We often will repeat the same mistake over and over again, just with a different person or circumstance. 

One of the best examples of this was the Israelites trip through the desert.  What should have been a short journey turned into 40 years of wandering in the desert.  Why?  Because God tested them and they failed over and over again.  The very mistakes they should have learned from they kept repeating.  They complained and even said their lives enslaved in Egypt were better than wandering in the desert.    

If we forget or don’t take the time to look for patterns in our mistakes and experiences and learn from them, we will be just like the Israelites.  We will wander the desert of this world repeating the same mistakes they did.  Our lives are going to be filled with mistakes and experiences.  Get the most out of them.

            

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I have made many mistakes in my life and I will continue to do so.  I pray that you will help me to analyze each one to see what wisdom I can reveal in my mistakes and experiences.  I can either learn from them or continue repeating them.  We don’t automatically get wisdom with age. 

Scripture: Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? 2 Corinthians 13:5

I said, ‘Age should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.’  But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. Great men are not always wise, nor do the aged always understand justice.  Job 32:7

Considerate  

Considerate - showing kindly awareness or regard for another's feelings, circumstances, etc.

Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree. ~Marian Wright Edelman

Do you ever look back on how you have treated people in your past and become ashamed?  I always think of this as my before cancer and after cancer.  It is sad but many times it takes a crisis for us to wake up to those around us. 

My parents and I worked a farmer’s market this weekend and it was a true joy.  I normally work this market by myself or my husband will sometimes work it with me.  I have made many friends at this market and I am always excited to go back. 

Just when I start to think my actions and interactions with others don’t matter I go to one of these events and God reminds me of the importance of being considerate and compassionate to others.  There is my fellow cancer survivor John who I gave a candle to several years ago and always brings his wife and their two greyhounds to see me.  There are the Murdoch’s who always stop by for a visit.  They are an elderly couple who sing in their church choir and I have had the true pleasure of going to one of their concerts.  They sang all the old hymns that I enjoyed as a child.  There is my good friend Karen with whom I have a special bond that can only be described as a God connection.  Then there is Nancy the retired school teacher who has not missed a market yet.  This weekend we had a visit from a young woman I met several years ago whose sister lived in Australia and had cancer.  We had given her a candle to take to her sister.  She stopped by our booth to let us know her sister had passed away but she sent a gift to my Mom.  She told us about how she took care of her sister before she died and how much she loved the lavender and how much it calmed her.

If you ever think that no one is listening or observing what you are doing think again.  The vendor next to us at the market is a beautiful young woman name Dena.  As we were breaking down our booth she stepped over to our booth and asked if we were believers.  She had overheard our conversation with the Murdoch’s about them being in the choir.  They had brought us tickets to attend their Christmas choir event.  Dena and I talked at length about our Christian walk and how much our lives had changed because of the Lord.  We discussed how important it is to show non-believers what a true Christian is and that others are always watching. 

The Bible says that we are to show consideration to all—that means the homeless person on the street, the store clerk at the grocery store, individuals we work with who may not know God.  This list is endless.

Jesus was constantly in trouble with the Pharisees because He constantly broke away from their rigid traditions.  They were more concerned with whether it was lawful and not whether it was kind or reasonable.  Jesus was an expert on being considerate. 

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to be considerate of others and show them You through my actions.  I sometimes get impatient and am not as kind and considerate as I should be.  Help me to see others as You do.  I praise You for your compassion and considerateness toward me, a sinner who doesn’t deserve it.

Scripture:  Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. James 3:17

What Would You Ask For?   

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.  Charles Spurgeon

Today I decided to meditate on Solomon.  I decided to put myself in his place and think about what I would have done with all that wisdom.  Solomon was really smart in the beginning.  When Solomon became king he understood that he was young and had great responsibility.  The one thing he didn’t have was wisdom to rule.  So when God came to him in a dream and asked him “what shall I give you,” Solomon’s response was unusual.

He asked God for an understanding heart to judge God’s people so that he would be able to discern between good and evil.  God was pleased that Solomon didn’t ask for what most people would have.  Riches, long life and the life of his enemies, so God granted him wisdom but he also granted him the things he didn’t ask for.  But, there was something God asked for in return for these blessings.  He asked that Solomon do several things.  Walk in God’s ways and keep his statutes and commandments.

Can you imagine God making you the wisest person on earth and because you didn’t ask for riches and long life he gives them to you anyway.  

This is where I think I wouldn’t have handled this very well.  When I think of the riches Solomon had, I think I would have failed in this area.  It is hard enough for me to handle what little I have now much less being the richest person on earth.  Solomon was the equivalent of a billionaire in his day.  Have you ever asked yourself if you had that much wealth what you would do with it?  Would you help others or spend it on yourself?  Would you pursue what God would have you do or would you pursue worldly things?  I would have a tough time because I complain about my ten year old car and my small house, when there are people in our own city who don’t have enough to eat or a roof over their head.

I would hope that I would handle things differently but I don’t know.  It is easy to judge someone else until you really step into their shoes.  I think maybe I would ask for a sin free life.  Because all the smarts in the world doesn’t mean we will do what is right in God’s eyes.  

  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I know that I can learn wisdom through meditation and the study of Your Word.  I also know that all the wisdom in the world will not stop me from sinning and failing to follow your commandments.  I praise you for showing me mercy and for caring enough to keep waiting for me to come back.  I thank you for Your Son who died on the cross so that I can make my way back to You. 

Scripture:    Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.  And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted.  Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” 1 Kings 3:4-9

The Best Advice

In the darkest of nights cling to the assurance that God loves you, that He always has advice for you, a path that you can tread and a solution to your problem--and you will experience that which you believe. God never disappoints anyone who places his trust in Him.  Basilea Schlink

When you need advice who do you turn to? Over the years we have all received advice from others about various things in our life.  Sometimes the advice is unsolicited and at other times we will turn to others to ask for advice.  There will be times in your life when you are going to get bad advice and others when you will get good advice.  Knowing when to accept advice and act on it is the key to moving in the right direction.

When we are the most in need of advice is when it is most important to take our time in evaluating the advice we are given.  Here are several things to consider.

Does the person giving the advice have an agenda?  By that I mean, does this person have a stake in the decision you are going to make?  Are they going to gain something by you taking their advice? 

The most important test for advice is this.  Is the advice you are receiving biblical?  Does it go against what the Bible says about what you are trying to do?  If it goes against what the Bible says then it is bad advice.

The most important thing to do when you are in need of advice is to Trust God.  The next most important thing is to search God’s Word.

One of the best stories in the Bible about advice is the story of Job.  His wife gave him the worst advice.  She asked him if he was still trying to maintain his integrity.  Her advice was for Job to “Curse God and die.”  Talk about bad advice. 

Job’s friends had good intentions but they missed the mark too.  Remember his friends advice when Job had lost everything.  Eliphaz based his advice on his own observations and claimed that Job had to be suffering because he had sin in his life.  Bildad based his advice on tradition and stated that Job was a hypocrite and Zophar based his advice on assumptions and stated that Job had to be a wicked man for him to be suffering so much.

 

If someone is giving you advice and it doesn’t strengthen your faith in God and confirm your faith, then run the other way.  Advice should point you to God not away from Him.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, help me to listen to advice with an open mind but to test it with Your Word.  Give me the wisdom to determine if it is good advice and the sense to take it when it is.  If I base my decisions on what the Bible says, then I will make the right decision in whatever challenges I face each day.  

   

Scripture: And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”  Job 42:7-8

Nothing In Return

How you treat other people, not your wealth or accomplishments, is the most enduring legacy you will leave.  Rick Warren

Have you ever done something for someone and then expected something in return for what you did for them?  I think we all do this or have done this at some point in our lives. We all at some point or another in our lifetime exhibit selfishness.  It is hard not to take on these characteristics when we are surrounded by a world that wants to be first in everything.  We want to win the race, be first in line, or get somewhere first.  We see it daily on the freeway with people cutting each other off to get to their destination first. 

If one of the most important fruits of the spirit is love, why do we have such a hard time giving it without expecting something in return?  How many times do you see millions of dollars donated to a hospital or organization and the donors name goes up on the building but most people don’t know who the person is?  By contrast how many times do you remember a stranger’s kindness because it was so unexpected?

Have you figured out that it is more important to touch someone’s soul than it is their wallet?  Two things happen when we give love to others without any expectation of something in return.   We are blessed and they are too.  It also shows another person what it means to love selflessly.  When that person’s needs are placed before our own we show them what Jesus’ love is all about. Jesus never did anything without love being first and foremost in his heart.  He is our best example of what it means to love and not expect anything in return.     

Love is the essence of God’s character. Love without expecting anything in return will transform lives.  The most important question is will we be a goat or a sheep?

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to love as Jesus did in his life on earth.  As He hung on the cross, He still showed love.  He asked God to forgive those who persecuted Him because they didn’t know what they were doing.  We all have the capacity to love without expecting anything in return.  Teach me to show others that kind of soul touching love.  

Scripture: The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”  Matthew 25:31-46