I was talking to a teenager one day about one of his favorite things—playing hockey. I asked him if he planned on playing hockey in college. “I couldn’t do that,” he said. “They don’t play hockey at my high school, so how could I ever play in college?” “But you play in a city league,” I replied. “Yeah,” he said, “but I’d never have the nerve to try out for a college team.”
That caught me off guard. His father, a professional hockey player, had put his son on the ice when he was two years old. I’d seen the young man play and he was good…yet there was something inside that was keeping him from realizing his full potential. In other words, he had “untapped” potential. What do I mean by untapped?
Richard Roberts and I believe God has given all of us talents and abilities that we have not even begun to use. Sometimes we may not realize a certain gift is inside us, or we may have let fear make us too afraid to do anything about it. But the gift is there, just the same…waiting for us to release it and use it for the glory of God. Let me give you an illustration that Richard Roberts and I believe may help us learn how to begin to unleash the full potential…the potential for greatness…that God has placed inside each and every one of us.
Immobilized by the Layers
Have you ever gone outside on a day that was so bitterly cold you had to put on layer after layer of clothes just to stay warm? True…they kept you warm. But did all those layers ever affect your ability to function! There are so many things you just can’t do with all those layers of clothing on.
In the same way, sometimes we layer ourselves with excuses to not use the potential that God has given us: “I’m too old.” “I’m too young.” “I don’t have enough money.” “I don’t have a job.” “I just know I could never succeed.” You know what I think? I think we don’t need to cover ourselves in all those excuses…all we need is God as our Source, and faith in His ability to help us unlock the potential He has given us.
Giving Up Can Close the Door
I know the story of a man who had every reason not to reach his full potential. Poorly educated as a child, he told people he wanted to be President someday. As a young man, he ran for the state legislature and lost. The woman he loved and planned to marry died of typhoid fever, causing him to have a nervous breakdown. Even though he was elected to the state legislature eventually, he was later defeated in a race for the U.S. Senate. He ran for Vice President and lost the nomination, then was defeated again for the Senate.
If ever anyone had an excuse to quit, it was this man. But Abraham Lincoln went on to become one of the greatest presidents our country has ever known…because he kept tapping into his potential, when a lesser person might have given up.
I believe giving up can close the door to the bright future God has planned for us (Jeremiah 29:11). It can deny God the opportunity to help us bring out the potential for greatness that He has placed inside all of us…a potential that, once realized, can not only bless your life, but the lives of others as well.
Take the Step
Maybe now is the time to ask yourself: What are the hopes and dreams I used to have? Have I allowed God to help me realize my full potential…or have I just settled for what was familiar and comfortable in my life? Imagine what could happen if we peeled off all our layers to reach the place where the only thing left was for us to say was “Yes, Lord, I’m ready to unleash my full potential in You.” When we begin to peel off the layers of excuses we’ve been using to avoid taking that first step of faith in God’s direction, I believe we can begin to become the people He always planned for us to be.