And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
Potential is an interesting word. It speaks of what you can do, but haven’t done yet. It refers to how far you can go.
God gives us potential, but that potential means nothing if you don’t bring it about. It requires action. He has placed natural gifts within you, but without training and practice, you won’t achieve your full potential in those areas.
Potential is future focused. So, if you lose sight of it, you will live in the past. I worked for seven years as a paramedic, so I spent a fair amount of time with people who were dying. As death approaches, people stop talking of the future. Naturally, they stop dreaming for the future because their potential for doing things on this earth has come to an end.
This phenomenon of living in past memories may be a natural phase of life for those who are nearing death, but living in the past is a big problem if you are not quickly approaching the end of your life. Some seem content to focus on their past achievements—the touchdown they scored in high school or some other past accomplishment. But you can’t camp on what you did when you were 18, thinking that you’ve already achieved your greatest accomplishments. God has built much more potential within you that has yet to be realized.
You could live out 2021 as a repeat of 2020, or 2019, or 1996 for that matter. Or, when someone asks you what this year will bring, you could respond with faith, saying “This is going to be the best year I’ve ever had! I will walk in greater health, better relationships and more success because God’s favour is on my life!”