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WHAT’S YOUR HIDDEN POTENTIAL?

March 8, 2009

Purpose:To help individuals find and reach their physical and spiritual potential.

    Dr.  Robert Sculler tells a story about an amazing horse named Sunday Silence.  As a colt he got colic but survived.  He was put up at two auctions but didn’t get a single bid.  Then, he was almost killed when his driver had a terrible accident. 

    Finally, Charles Widdingham bought Sunday Silence, sight unseen.  This man was seventy-six years old, the oldest trainer ever to enter a horse in the Kentucky derby.  Furthermore, the jockey had just been rehabilitated from drug abuse.  Most people wouldn’t have bet one cent on such a horse, rider and trainer. 

    The day of his first race arrived.  When the horses came out of the gate, Sunday Silence couldn’t even run in a straight line.  He wobbled in confusion.  Then, all of a sudden, he seemed to realize, “I’m in a race!  I want to win!”  He straightened up, took off like a bullet, won that race and went on to win the Kentucky Derby.  Sunday Silence had discovered his hidden potential.

    Jesus saw potential in others.  Throughout his ministry he often saw hidden potential that no one else recognized.  For instance, he called Peter, who was a crude, impulsive man with a lot of flaws.

    He conversed with the woman at the well who had a very sordid past, with 5 husbands and a few miscellaneous lovers.

    He consorted with Zacchaeus, who had betrayed his faith and cheated his own country men.

    It’s obvious that Jesus saw positive traits and talents in these men and women that made him spend time developing them.

    Then there was the Rich Young Ruler.  Jesus saw great potential in him.  The Scripture says, “A man ran up to (Jesus) and fell on his knees before him.  'Good teacher,' he asked, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life'?  Jesus looked at him and loved him, 'One thing you lack,' he said.  'Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me' ” (Mark 10:17,21).

    Unfortunately this man rejected Jesus’ offer.  The Scripture says, “At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth” (Mark 10:22).

    Now, what hidden potential do you suppose Jesus saw in the Rich Young Ruler to make him love him in that special way?  What role would he have played in the early church?  Would he have written one of the Gospels?  Would he have preached a great sermon?

    We’ll never know because he did not develop that hidden potential.

    Once a beggar sat across the street from an artist’s studio.  Looking out his window, the painter sketched the face of the poor, defeated soul.  Then he added color to the drawing.  As he worked, the beggar’s face began to change.  The dull eyes began to suggest imagination.  The brighter  skin gave him a look of determination.  The straggly hair was touched up to give him a clean, regal look.

    When the painting was finished, the artist called the beggar in to see it.  The old man didn’t recognize himself.  “Who is it?” he asked.  The artist smiled.

    The beggar looked closer, with a deeper appreciation.  “Is that me?” he finally asked.  “Can it be me?”

    “Yes,” replied the artist.  “That’s how I see you.”

    At that, the beggar squared his shoulders, stood up tall and said, “If that’s the person you see, then that’s the person I’ll be!”
    God looks at us the way that artist looked at the beggar.  He sees the person in us that we were meant to be.  He sees the person He created us to be.  He sees our possibilities.

    In fact, that’s the theme of the Gospel.  So, how can we reach our hidden potential?

I.  First, we must recognize our potential.

    We must not minimize our possibilities because they are there.  The Bible says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal.  3:26, niv);

    John said, “The one who is the true light, gives light to everyone . . .” (John 1:9, nlb).

    So, all of us have talents and abilities and gifts.  Paul said, "Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, {let each exercise them accordingly} . . ." (Rom.  12:6, nas).

    We must find our gifts!  Sometimes it takes a problem or unexpected turn of events to enlighten us.  Oklahoma legend Will Rogers’ greatest ambition in life was to be a circus cowboy.  He finally got an opportunity to perform in New York City.  His whole career hinged on a lariat trick, but he was so nervous he lost control at a peak moment and became tangled up in his own rope.  Everybody laughed.  Instead of panicking he commented, “Well, getting tangled up in a rope ain’t so bad, unless it’s ’round your neck!”  Everybody laughed again.  Then he made another comment and they laughed some more.  At this moment of embarrassment and failure he discovered his real hidden potential–the ability to make people laugh.  The rest is history.

    What does God see in you that others may not see?  What does God see in you that you may not even see?  What is your real authentic personality?  What are your unused talents and abilities?  What are your silent hopes and dreams?

    A real estate agent said that once in a while he finds a house that he calls a sleeper.  This piece of property is loaded with possibilities, and the price is low, but nobody wants it.  Nobody notices that it is a real bargain.  It just sets there waiting for somebody to discover it.  There are a lot of people like that.  They are sleepers, loaded with possibilities, waiting to be discovered.  Are you a sleeper?  If so, today you can wake up and discover the purpose God has for you.  Keep analyzing yourself until you recognize your potential.

II.  Next, we must believe in our potential.

    We are made in God's image.  The Scripture says, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:27).

    In one of Buckminster Fuller’s books, he tells of a metal that was created in the Space Program.  This alloy looks very much like any other metal, but it has amazing powers.  Once it’s been formed into some shape, it remembers that shape forever.  Even though it becomes bent, twisted or crushed, it remembers what it was made to be.  Once it is reheated, it springs back instantly to its original design.

    Can we believe that such a miracle takes place within us.  Is there a memory of the plan by which we were formed?  Do we have a hidden potential?

    Yes, we do!  No matter how much sin has distorted us, the original image that God created is still there.  Paul said, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Eph. 2:10).

    The next time you go to the refrigerator to get an egg, ask yourself this question:  "Can an egg fly?"  That's funny, of course!  Everybody knows an egg can't fly!

    But, wait just a minute.  "An egg can fly if it’s allowed to reach its potential and be born as a bird.  When new life breaks out of the shell, wings are there and it can fly.

    The same is true of us.  So, break out of your shell and believe in your potential!

III.  Finally, we must use our potential!

    Nothing is worthwhile without use. 

    "Use it or lose it" is a very important motto.  Machines that aren't used, rust.  Muscles that aren't used deteriorate.  Eyes that aren't used go blind.  Paul told Timothy that when he used his gift it would grow.  "I remind you to use the gift God gave you.  God gave you that gift . . . Now let it grow . . ." (II Tim. 1:6. edb).

    Nature assumes that if you don't use something, then it's not needed, so she takes it away.  Fish in Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, deep underground are totally blind.  Now, this species once had eyes.  Their relatives outside the cave have perfectly normal sight.  But, because it was dark, the eyes weren't used and therefore they lost their ability to see.

    It's wrong to live beneath your potential.  It's a sin to waste your God-given talents.  What does God want you to be?

    Each of us has great potential inside, but it can lay dormant and be wasted.  Such a thing happened in Bangkok, Thailand.  For 1000 years the biggest chunk of sculptured gold in the world was unknown and unused.  The golden Buddha was concealed beneath a concrete shell that the creators had built around it to hide it from invading armies.  For generations no one knew it was there.  They believed the rough exterior they saw was all there was.  Then, in 1957 it was accidentally dropped from a crane.  At that moment it cracked open and the inner splendor was discovered.

    With people, what you see may not be all there is.  Too often we hide our real selves and cover over our great possibilities.  Sometimes it takes a traumatic event to reveal our true talent.

    Discovering your potential; believing in your potential; and using your potential is your personal responsibility.  Furthermore, it may surprise you to know that your hidden potential is nothing less than the potential of Christ himself.  John said, “As he is, so are we in this world” (I John 4:17b, kjv).

    To utilize our hidden potential we can pray:

        Lord, I invite you to come and live your life in me:
        Lord, here is my brain---think with it.
        Lord, here is my face---smile at someone through it.
        Lord, here is my tongue---speak to someone with it.
        Lord, here are my ears---listen to someone with them.
        Lord, here are my hands---touch someone with them.
        Lord, here are my arms---lift someone with them.
        Lord, here are my feet---walk with them where you need to go.
        Lord, I want to let the “Christ Spirit” live in me!
                    Amen!

    Don’t waste your hidden potential.

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(WC1736)

Copyrighted 2009 by Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK.  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO USE THIS MESSAGE IN ANY WAY YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE.  The only thing we ask is that you give credit for original material in PUBLISHED works. 

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Miles E Wesner

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