Mensa Otabil - The Power of Potential

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Genesis 1, verse 24: Then God said, «Let the Earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the Earth, each according to its kind.» And it was so. Our minds produce ideas, our hands manufacture things, our lips produce words, and our spirits produce morality and ethical behavior. These are some of the things we can be fruitful in, to be productive in. But in our passage today, it says that everything produces after its kind. So, if God places a seed within us, what kind will it produce?

When a farmer wants to grow a farm, he plants a seed to produce a crop. If the farmer wants to cultivate corn, he plants corn seed. Why? Because the corn seed will produce corn fruit. Everything produces after its kind. The whole idea is that when God gives you something from within-the potential, what we call the seed-it will only produce after its kind.

For example, if somebody wants to produce music, what seed must they sow? Of course, they can’t sow corn or apple seeds, as that will give them apples. They have to produce out of something within them that is musical: that is the musical gift that God has given them, or the musical seed- all the musical potential that is within them. So, we produce after our kind.

For a person to be a doctor, the seed of a doctor must be in them. For a person to be a nurse, the seed of a nurse must be in them. For a person to be a pastor, the seed must be there. Usually, we call the seed a calling-a calling, a gifting, a talent, or an ability. However we call it, we mean that the person has the potential to become it.

If a pastor has a calling, it is the potential to be a pastor. If a nurse has a calling, it is the potential to be a nurse. So, everything produces after its kind. God has given to each one of us something within us; what He has planted within us will produce after its kind. The problem is sometimes we have something within us, but we want to produce what somebody else is producing — their kind — and we don’t have the seed for it.

So, our life becomes a meaningless pursuit, trying to mimic or imitate others. God has created us in such a way that each one of us can excel somewhere. We may not all excel equally in the same field, but each one has a place of excellence that they must pursue. It’s great to go to school and learn something; it gives you training. But it’s better that your training aligns with your potential because when you do that, then you become fruitful.

The seed God has given to you and your training must be in agreement. Don’t be discouraged. I know sometimes people say, «What if I train for the wrong thing?» Most times, we don’t end up in the wrong way, and the reason is that the seed God has given to you and the calling He has placed on you, whatever field, is so strong that it drives you without you knowing.

It leads you, so you find that your aptitude, your thought patterns, the things you have passion for, and the things you gravitate toward- all of it leads you one way or the other to land at the place God has called you to be. Except if someone deliberately interferes in your development process and misguides you, you may end up doing something differently. But most of the time, just going with what they say, going with the flow, you may end up doing what God has called you to be.

So, the Earth is a fruitful place. God has given us the potential, the seed, and whatever God has put within us can produce what it is designed to produce. It will produce after its kind. So, don’t be afraid about whether your life can be fruitful or not. It will be fruitful because God has invested so much in you.

Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, help me fulfill the assignment for which You created me. I want to be the best for You. In Jesus' name, Amen.»