FIVE WAYS TO FULFILL YOUR POTENTIAL. (PART 1)

In life, many people do not reach their full potential. We can become so caught up in the everyday that it is easier to continue in old patterns rather than change. Yet, we all have a God-given desire to live to our full potential. Perhaps you remember this celebrated biography:

'Solomon Grundy... Born on Monday... Christened on Tuesday… Married on Wednesday…
Took ill on Thursday… Grew worse on Friday…
Died on Saturday… Buried on Sunday…
And that was the end of Solomon Grundy.’

For some people, that just about sums up their life. And yet, all of us feel deep down ‘There must be more to life than that’. Jesus says, in effect, ‘Yes, there is!’. The potential for every human being is great.

Jesus wants you to live a highly productive life. He wants you to produce ‘a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown’ (Matthew 13:8). The minimum is a thirty-times multiplication. The key to that potential lies in your relationship with Jesus – a relationship that can be as close as that of a brother or sister or mother (12:50). You can live a life of real purpose that will make a difference to the world, because of what you receive from him (13:11,12,16).

Your potential is not about being driven by ambition or success; it is about recognising who you are in God. As you seek him and live your life according to his purposes, you will bear much fruit. The more you begin to fulfil your God-given potential, the more he entrusts to you. He wants you to live a life of abundance (v.12).

The potential for Israel was very great (Genesis 35:11). God intended that Israel would not only be blessed, but also be a blessing to other nations. You have the potential to live a life of even greater blessing than those you read about in the Old Testament. Jesus says, ‘Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it’ (Matthew 13:16–17).

Jesus warns that although there is great potential in each of us, there are pitfalls ahead. How can you avoid the pitfalls and fulfil your potential?


1. Possess humility: Psalm 10:1–11

In his book, Finding Happiness: Monastic Steps for a Fulfilling Life, Abbot Christopher Jamison defines pride as ‘self-importance’. He writes, ‘Humility is an honest approach to the reality of our own lives and acknowledges that we are not more important than other people.’

The psalmist goes on a journey from feeling that God is ‘far off… in times of trouble’ (v.1 onwards), to a realisation (as we will read tomorrow) that God certainly does ‘see trouble and grief’, does ‘listen’ to the ‘cry’ of the ‘afflicted’ and does defend ‘the fatherless and oppressed’ (v.14 onwards).

In fact, it is the ‘wicked’ (v.2) who seek to make themselves distant – ‘your laws are rejected by him’ (v.5). They think of themselves as more important than others – especially the poor, whom they ‘draw into their net and crush’ (vv.9–10, AMP). These verses tell us about the pitfall of ‘pride’ (v.4).

When things go well it is tempting to say, ‘Nothing will ever shake me... No one will ever do me harm’ (v.6). We can be tempted to feel that we have no need of God: ‘In their pride the wicked do not seek him; in all their thoughts there is no room for God’ (v.4). It’s easy to become arrogant (v.2) and boastful (v.3). This psalm warns us against doing so, and reminds us of our need for God.