New Reminders: Potential
by Ardith Hoff
We all have unused potential. That is, we do not always fully use all of the energy and talents we have been given to do what we are capable of doing. Sometimes there might have been something standing in the way of our ability to develop a particular skill or talent. More often than not however, the choice was our own. We might have known that we have a talent for numbers, but careers in accounting or tax preparation may not have seemed very glamorous to us and we might have chosen to pursue drama or journalism, for which we may or may not have much talent. We need to ask God to guide our choices as He has promised to do.
About 80% of students in college end up changing their major at least once, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. On average, college students change their major at least three times over the course of their college career. Is that because each path they start down proves too difficult and they realized that they do not have the right set of interests or skills to pursue it, or is it that they feel “called” to pursue a different path?
Unlike the story of young Samuel in the Bible, God does not often come to a modern-day person, as a voice in the night, to call us directly to the work he has planned for us. It might take a few tries to figure out what we are meant to do. Few will receive a call into full-time ministry, but we are all called to find our purpose in life. Sometimes that purpose might just be part of our everyday life, at work or at home, in the way we encourage others or how we care for our families. God does not need all of us to be leaders. Some of us simply need to humbly accept the everyday duties we are responsible for and to perform them to the best of our abilities. We can minster to our co-workers, our families and our neighbors any time. We can spread God’s love wherever we are.
God never stops pursuing us and redirecting us toward his plan. We need to remember that it is His calling on our lives, so He is faithful in helping us accomplish it. If we seek the holy spirit’s guidance first, we can be confident that we are on the right on track. “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” – Proverbs 16:3 “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” – Hebrews 10:36