Become Who You Were Born to Be: Unlock Your Divine Destiny
Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Corinthians 5:5 NIV).
The potential of everything is related to its purpose for being.
Before we can understand the potential of a thing or person, we first must know the conditions under which it was meant to exist. Thus the most important thing for you and me, as human beings, is to try and find out for the rest of our lives what is the purpose for everything in life. That is our main goal. Unless we ask ourselves, “What is the purpose for everything in life?” we will die without having experienced the potential of everything. We will miss the wisdom of God in creation.
In 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul describes the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God:
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:20-23 NIV).
When somebody tells you they are wise, don’t get carried away. Although they may have wisdom, it might not be the right kind of wisdom.
Not only did God carefully plan for the details of your life, He also determined how your life would fit into His total plan for humankind. Part of the answer to the why of our birth is revealed in God’s desire that we should show forth His glory. The glory of God is the excess of His nature. It’s all the potential of our omnipotent God that has not yet been revealed. He’s full of so much more than we can think or imagine and He’s waiting to use us to realize our purpose and potential.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV).
Throughout the Bible, God tells us to make His name great in the earth. Praise and thanks are due God’s name, which is great and awesome (see Psalm 44:8; 99:3). His name is to be proclaimed among the nations (see Malachi 1:11) as well as in Israel (see Psalm 76:1). His name is holy (see Luke 1:49; Psalm 99:3) and mighty in power (see Jeremiah 10:6). Everything is done for “His name’s sake.” To understand this concept, we must also understand that the Hebrew concept of “name” literally is synonymous with the object. In other words, the name of the thing is the thing. Therefore, the name of God is Himself, and He is His name. To glorify His name, then, means exposing His nature.
God created you to bring glory to His name. His predestined plan for your life was designed to bring Him glory. He knows there is more to you than we can see because He placed part of Himself in you. His plan for your life is part of His creative work—through you God wants to continue the birth of His potential. Because you share God’s omnipotent nature, Jesus said you can do even greater things than He did, if you only believe:
I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, “May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,” and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart (Mark 11:23 NLT).
True Purpose and Full Potential
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28 NLT).
It is a tragedy to know that with more than 7 billion people on this planet today, only a tiny percentage of those individuals will experience a significant fraction of their true purpose and potential. Perhaps you are a candidate for contributing to the wealth of the cemetery? Your purpose was not given for you to deposit in the grave. You must understand the tremendous potential you possess and commit yourself to maximizing it in your short lifetime. What is potential, anyway?
Potential is dormant ability, reserved power, untapped strength, unused success, hidden talents, capped capability. All you can be but have not yet become—all you can do but have not yet done, how far you can reach but have not yet reached, what you can accomplish but have not yet accomplished. Potential is unexposed ability and latent power.
Your potential is therefore not what you have done, but what you are yet able to do. In other words, what you have done is no longer your potential. What you have successfully accomplished is no longer potential. It is said that unless you do something beyond what you have done, you will never grow or experience your full potential, never fulfill your purpose. Potential demands that you never settle for what you have accomplished.
One of the great enemies of your potential is success. To realize your full potential, you must never be satisfied with your last accomplishment. It is also important that you never let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life that never realized its full purpose. You must decide today not to rob the world of the rich, valuable, potent, untapped resources locked away within you. Purpose and potential never have a retirement plan.
When I think about “my purpose in life,” the first thought that comes to mind is:
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Do I actually have “rich, valuable, potent, and untapped resources,” skills, and talents within me? What could they be? My best guesses right now are:
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