Maximizing Your Potential

I imagine Jesus in the garden before His arrest. His will was saying, “Let’s find another way to do this,” but God said, “There is only one way.” Because Jesus’ will was disciplined, He said, “Okay, Your will not Mine be done.” (See Mark 14:32-36.) If you do not train your will to be subjected to God’s wisdom and purposes, you will forfeit the purpose for which you were born, and your potential will be wasted. Self-discipline is the highest expression of selfmanagement, which is manifested in a disciplined will. The cultivating of your soul also requires that you control your emotions. Too often we allow our emotions to control us instead of our controlling them. Tantrums and fits of rage are symptoms of this malady. Emotions are controlled by understanding. Ecclesiastes 7:12 says: Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor. What we know to be true from seeking information and examining the facts must be the basis on which we make decisions and relate to other people. Emotions often color what we see. They also prompt us to say hasty words and to make unwise choices. Emotions governed by information provides an environment in which the potential of our souls can be maximized. Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city (Proverbs 16:32). Jesus said that the soul is the most important dimension of our makeup because the soul is both our receiving center and our distribution center. It receives information through our physical senses and discernment through our spirits and it sends directions back to both our bodies and our spirits. Thus, our souls processes information from both the physical and the spiritual worlds. Jesus said in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” The word meek does not mean “weak,” but rather “controlled power” or “disciplined energy.” Self-discipline will cause God to trust us to manage more of the earth’s resources. Too often the soul is neglected and permitted to pick up information that is not good for the spirit. Maximize your potential by cultivating and feeding your soul so that your spirit may fellowship with God, who is the source of all potential. Cultivate and Feed Your Spirit Maximizing your potential begins with your decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior because the measure of your true potential is your spirit. Until you become reconnected with God through faith in Jesus Christ and the presence of His Spirit in your heart, you are spiritually dead, and the potential of your spirit is unavailable to you. Then your mind can only be controlled by what