“You can do it!” “Bear down, try harder, don’t quit.” “If you think you can, you can.”
I’m thankful for those who see what I frequently fail to see in myself -- potential.
A mom or dad who recognizes potential in their child wants to motivate them. Teachers want to encourage their students to discover they have more ability than they think. A coach understands how necessary it is to push the athlete -- stretching them to maximize their capacity.
We all need someone to motivate, encourage, and challenge us to discover our respective potential.
We also need honesty!
In my first year of high school, I was 5 feet two inches tall. Although I played on our varsity basketball team, I was incapable of dunking the ball. All the exercise, motivation, and discipline I could muster could not overcome my physical limitations: I was 5 feet two inches tall.
We regularly encounter our limitations. So did the Apostle Paul. He repeatedly asks God to remove a “thorn in his flesh.” Whatever Paul’s hindrance or impediment is: No amount of effort on his part can change his condition.
However, he discovers: Limitations do not have to be a liability! Acknowledging our limits makes room for God’s transforming power.
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:9–10 (ESV)
Whatever you may see as your limitation, -- whether it’s a situation you can’t control, a physical or financial challenge, or a weakness beyond your ability to change -- remember this:
Your limitations encourage your dependence on God, making space for God’s transforming power.