I am writing this today with a heavy heart. Last night Billy Hornsby, our pastor's father-in-law, passed away. He was a true man of God. Pastor Chris has told Billy's story a few times in church, and it really exemplifies how God wants to grow our untapped potential.
Billy was not the first, and he will not be the last person that God saw who has great potential for the Kingdom. This morning after I had read the email about Billy, God laid this message on my heart.
So many heros in the bible were messed up. God loved taking the mess of their lives and turning it into something He could use. When you start to run the list, you really see a pattern, and you have to smile & you may even wonder what in the world God is thinking. God said he would use the weak and foolish to shame the proud. {my paraphrase} (1 Corinthians 1:27) I'll mention a few: Moses, Elijah, Jonah, David, the 12 disciples, Paul...and these are just a handful of guys. God saw them, saw their weaknesses and tendencies & said, 'Yep, that's the guy I want.' Moses, David, Paul: murderers; Elijah: fearful to the point of running away & hiding; Jonah: selfish with God's word; out of the 12 disciples, four were common fishermen & one was a tax collector. In the eyes of the world these guys were not the highest caliber people the Lord could have chosen, but these were his go to guys.
How comforting this is for me. God sees everything about me & says 'Yep, she's the one I want, and I know right where to put her.' He has said that about you too. When people tell you that you're not good enough, smart enough, strong enough, fast enough, you know what God will say. 'Yep, they are the one I want, they are perfect for the job.' God gives us the tools we need to do the job He needs us to do. He gives us the ability to do these things, We know it's not by our own power that we can do the job God has given us, it's only through Him. He does this so no one can say they did it in their own strength, but we boast because of the Lord's strength in us. (1 Cor 12:9-10; Philippians 2:14-17)
Not only, will God give you the tools to do something, He'll give you the desire to do it too. It's the whole falling into His will thing. Knowing God's will can be a little confusing sometimes. How do I know the will of God? His will is in the bible. He doesn't keep it a secret, but He does reveal it to us in different ways. We are told in 1 John 5:14-15 that if we ask in accordance to God's will he will hear us and if He hears us, we have what we ask for.
Let me clarify that God is not a genie in a bottle. You don't rub your bible like a magic lamp and get your wishes granted. God wants you to choose to follow Him. He does not bend His will to our needs; we ask Him to show us His will and to bend us to it. So many people think that they are not loved by God because of things that have happened in their lives that they prayed about, and they think God didn't hear them or answer. But sometimes God's answer is no. That can be so hard to hear. I don't want to hear God tell me no, or to wait, or to trust, but He does. What I choose is to trust and obey. I praise Him because His ways are higher than mine. (Isaiah 55:8-9) I praise Him because He sent His son to die on the cross for me. (John 3:16) I praise Him because he sees what I can be and molds me to be able to do it.
Ask God to use your untapped potential. Ask Him to show you His will, and to help you to live in it. If you choose God, He will send you joy beyond your greatest imagination. Praise be to Him who was, is, and is to come!
In Him,
~ashley
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