I hope & trust this post finds you having a great day as a potentially great day begins to dawn! There is a ton of potential in this day...will it be fulfilled or remain, sadly, potential?
I want to start off by sharing a couple of excerpts with you. The first one is from Mark Batterson's book, Chase the Lion.
"Sure, some people are more naturally gifted than others. But unless the giftedness is coupled with a complementary work ethic, it'll only result in wasted potential.
You can't just pray as if it depends solely on God; you also have to work as if it depends on you. It's your work ethic plus your prayer ethic that will inch you closer to your dream. And it happens one practice, one day at a time."
The other comes from Rick Warren's message, Make The Most Of Your Talents, on May 21, 2014.
"If you think your talents are simply for you to make a lot of money, retire, and die, you've missed the point of your life. God gave you talents to benefit others, not yourself. And God gave other people talents that benefit you.
We're all a part of the body of Christ, and each part matters. There are no insignificant people in the family of God. You are shaped to serve God, and he is testing you to see how you are going to use the talents he gave you.
Whether you are a musician or an accountant, a teacher or a cook, God gave you those abilities to serve others. Today's verse says, "Each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms" (1 Peter 4: 10 NIV).
You are a manager of the gifts God has given to you. They may be great or small in your eyes, but they matter to God. "Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV). When God made you, he made an investment in you, and he expects a return on his investment."
You are welcome for that slap in the face this morning! :) Pretty powerful stuff, huh?
Let's talk for a moment Friends. One of the first things that strikes me as so ironic is how much time we spend comparing ourselves, our journey's, to others. I search the words above, I search the Bible and nowhere can I find that I am supposed to compare myself to someone else, try to use the talents of another, etc. Over and over again I see that I am to become all God created me to become, that I am to work on who I am. What if we did this today? What if we today we genuinely appreciated who God has created us to become, individually, and we simply worked with God to become the best we are capable of becoming today? Yes Lord, let this be that day!
There is another great irony that is hitting me; we are instructed to take the talents God has given us and develop them fully to serve others. What happens far to often? We want to compare our talents to someone else's and we want them to serve us. As the saying goes, "Houston, we have a problem!"
You & I are uniquely created on purpose for a purpose. Your talents are yours and mine are mine. Within these talents there is a potential, a top-end if you will, that we can reach/achieve. The Bible tells me that we have everything we need, that we lack nothing to achieve our purpose. If we will pursue God, strive daily with Him to become all that we were created to become and then selflessly serve others with our talents every day we will be walking in accordance with God's call on our lives. Yes Lord, let this be that day!
And please note, we are counting on you! You see, your life - talents, experiences, etc. - is not a mistake. God placed you here now because He has a plan for your life and the way it intersects with all of us who share this planet with you. The way He created it all is that we have different talents, none more significant than the other, and when we function together as we were created, we are whole. However if you, or I, choose not to pursue the talents He has given us, if we choose not to serve others with these talents, we are not whole. Something irreplaceable is missing...you! We will be fine, we can go on however we will not reach the full potential of what we could have become had each one of us, individually, become all that we were created to become.
Quotes speak to my heart and they challenge my spirit. I want to close with a few for you this morning.
"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'" - Erma Bombeck
"To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are." - Lolly Daskal
"Believe in yourself the way God believes in you." - Unknown
"Recognize the greatness which exists within you. You have limitless potential and ability waiting to be developed." - Dean Tolson
"God doesn't focus on your faults; why should you?" - Joyce Meyer
"The warrior who trust his path doesn't need to prove the other wrong." - Paulo Coelho
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.
Kev
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