Growing up on a farm in Ohio helped me to understand the potential that God has placed in each of us as His masterpiece. To clarify the principle of potential and to help you understand your potential let me illustrate with a simple picture. Our home was surrounded by corn fields, if I were to hold a seed of corn in my hand and ask you to describe what I was holding you would probably say it was a seed, specifically a seed of corn. It appears obvious. And while you would be factually correct you would have missed the truth of potential, because in one seed of corn there is a stock of corn which will grow 2 ears of corn. Plant the seed of those 2 ears of corn and you soon have a field of corn.
The reality is that I am not simply holding a single seed of corn in my hand; I am holding an entire field and more. While you visually can only see a single kernel of corn in my hand, there is more, much more and that is potential.
The same is true with you. What you are today is not your potential; your potential is what you are capable of becoming. God has already declared that you are His masterpiece,
(Eph 2:10) His greatest creation, His prized possession. That means you have the potential of masterpiece living. You are capable of much more than you are today, you have abilities that are still dormant or undisciplined, you are full of strength that you have not yet exercised, you have talents that you have yet to tap into unfulfilled dreams and visions.
So how do you go about tapping into and releasing the potential that is a part of your DNA as God’s masterpiece? Here is the recipe:
Look Forward
Never settle for the past. One of the greatest dangers lurking to rob you of living your potential is to look back and be satisfied with your former successes. While you should enjoy them, celebrate them, and build on them, you must not become satisfied. The successes and accomplishments of the past are no longer your potential, what you are capable of doing in the future is potential!
Be Patient
We live in a day and age where we think everything should be instant. But a masterpiece takes time because a masterpiece comes from potential. God works through His principle of potential in your life. We see this in all of creation. God could have created billions of people at once and declared that He had created the human race, instead He worked through His own principle of potential, beginning with 2 people: Adam and Eve. In those two people He saw the potential of all of humanity – billions of people.
Potential takes time and requires patience. You may not feel like you are patient by nature, but God gives you His Spirit to live in you and one of the characteristics of the Spirit of God living in you is patience. You must prayerfully ask Him to empower you with the characteristics of His Spirit because the very nature of potential being fully realized requires patience.
Recognize There Is More
Regardless of your age, as long as you have a pulse you have potential. The moment you feel that you no longer have potential, you cease living. (I’m not speaking physically, but in every other way you cease to live the rich and satisfying life Jesus came to give you. John 10:10) Your life as His masterpiece will not be complete until you see Jesus face to face. That truth should excite you and challenge you. It should compel you to grow. There is potential waiting to be developed and released everyday that God gives you breath. That gets me excited. In fact I realize I’m probably more excited about your potential than you are! Get excited about it!!! Because wherever you are in life at this very moment, regardless of the accomplishments, successes or failures, there is more.
Jesus spoke about potential when He said: “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.” (John 12:23-25 NLT) Did it work? You bet, today there are over 2 billion followers of Jesus in the world.
Next Steps:
What area of your life do you need to focus on to release and experience your full potential? Of the receipt for doing so, which of the 3 areas do you need to focus on the most? 1. Looking forward. 2. Being Patient. 3. Recognizing there is more. Prayerfully focus on it throughout the day, write down a simple action plan to help you move forward and experience your full potential.
Resources: Life Palette. In this book I show you how develop your Life Palette to allow God to paint your life as His masterpiece every day and live your full potential.
Feedback: I would love to hear from you. If you have questions or comments about this or any post on Life Palette blog or how the book has made a difference in your life as a masterpiece please respond below.