“If you remain in My word, then you are truly My disciples. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:31b-32).
Truth be told, you can’t even fathom your full potential. Only your Creator can. Only God, the one who made you, knows all you are capable of being. Your parents, your spouse, your friends, your boss—they only get a glimpse of your potential.
Only God knows what you’re truly capable of doing and who you’re capable of becoming.
You use such a small fraction of your brain. You don’t need more intelligence. You need to use more of the intelligence you already have.
Most people live for the approval of others. They spend all of their time worrying about what others think of them. Your life has been limited by replaying tapes in your head of people who lied to you. They may not even mean to lie to you, but they still do. They’ve told you that you can’t do something or that you shouldn’t even bother because you’re not worth much anyway.
You’ve played these tapes over and over in your mind. But they’re lies. The people who made those statements about you have no idea about your potential. You have to talk to your Creator for that.
Only He knows what He can do through your life. And only He can unlock that potential. How does He do it?
The Lord frees us through His Word. Jesus said this in John 8:31b-32:”If you remain in My word, then you are truly My disciples. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” God’s Word will unlock all you’ve been made to do and be. Through it, you’ll be able to do things you never thought possible.
How do you do that?
- Learn God’s Word. God won’t unlock your potential until you actually open the Bible and learn it. You won’t unlock potential by osmosis. You’ll start to do it by learning what the Bible says.
- Accept God’s Word. The Bible has to be the authority in your life. You may not like what you’re reading, but—if you want God’s best for your life— you need to accept what it says as the final authority for how you live.
- Obey God’s Word. You can’t just learn God’s Word and accept God’s Word. You have to do what the Bible teaches. You don’t get blessed for the parts of the Bible you know. You get blessed for the parts of the Bible you do.
You were made for much more than you ever imagined. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!” (CEV).
So open up God’s Word, and get ready to do what only God can imagine.
Talk About It
- Have you been inconsistent about opening God’s Word? What will you do about that today?
- Where in your life are you praying for God’s blessing? Is this an area in which you are faithful to Him?
- How has God revealed Himself to you when you have spent time consistently in the Word? {eoa}
Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America’s largest and most influential churches. Rick is author of the New York Times best-seller The Purpose Driven Life. His book The Purpose Driven Church was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also the founder of pastors.com, a global Internet community for pastors.
For the original article, visit pastorrick.com.
