2 Timothy 1:6,7 “I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God… for God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.”
There is untapped potential in each one of us. Paul saw something special in his protégé, Timothy, and he didn’t want Timothy to settle for less than God’s best. He knew there would be setbacks along the way but he wrote to encourage Timothy to press on despite them.
Sometimes events which seemed like a ‘failure’ in our lives keep us from fulfilling our potential. Can you look back over your life and see a time when an apparent failure meant you stopped pursuing a dream in that area?
John Maxwell writes on failure: “Vincent Van Gogh failed as an art dealer, flunked his entrance exam to theology school, and was fired by the church after an ill-fated attempt at missionary work. In fact, during his life, he seldom experienced anything other than failure as an artist. Although a single painting by Van Gogh would fetch in excess of $100 million today, in his lifetime Van Gogh sold only one painting, four months prior to his death. Before developing his theory of relativity, Albert Einstein encountered academic failure. One headmaster expelled Einstein from school and another teacher predicted that he would never amount to anything. Einstein even failed his entrance exam into college. Prior to dazzling the world with his athletic skill, Michael Jordan was cut from his sophomore basketball team. Even though he captured six championships, during his professional career, Jordan missed over 12,000 shots, lost nearly 400 games, and failed to make more than 25 would-be game-winning baskets. Failure didn’t stop Vincent Van Gogh from painting, Albert Einstein from theorizing, or Michael Jordan from playing basketball, but it has paralysed countless people and prevented them from reaching their potential.”
Lord, by your grace I choose to fulfill my potential for your glory. Amen!
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