The kingdom of God is all about potential. As Jesus often demonstrated by using everyday things in life as examples in His teachings, He illustrates in this scripture, how when maximized, what could become of a tiny mustard seed. Likewise, God envisions the seed Heís planted in each of us. He sees the difference we will make in His kingdom if we allow Him to sow these seeds in our lives. For only then will He able to unleash our fullest potential.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "I know the plans that I have for you says the Lord". Itís His plans, not ours, but we often fail to make a commitment to Godís future for our lives. Thus we delay or in some cases never ever know the potential that God is just waiting to unleash in us.

Abraham left his past behind and made a commitment to Godís future in order to take hold of the plans God had for him. But many of us find it difficult to move forward because we hang on to the things of our past. For instance:

P ain ñ We hang on to the pain of divorce, broken relationships, financial failure, or even physical suffering which can sometimes lead to feelings of inadequacy and insecurity.

A ccomplishment ñ We cling to our awards, accolades, and achievements, which may breed a sense of pride and self-glorification.

S in ñ We hold on to guilt, which bears down on us and weighs so heavily on our hearts and souls that it cultivates feelings of unworthiness.

T houghts ñ Our thoughts of others and ourselves may distract us from Godís best for our lives.

Satan cannot take anything God has give us. Not our treasures, our time, our resources, or our salvation. But when we live in the past, we give the devil permission to come against the plans God has for our lives. Once we allow the enemy to gain a foothold, he enters into where he has an opportunity to manipulate a situation or circumstance to where we lose focus and our thoughts turn away from God. The result of this deception, should we remain in the past, is that we will begin to hesitate and compromise what God has for us.

Like Lot we sometimes hesitate on whether or not to let go of our past and donít recognize the dangers that lie ahead. At times we view our life as a tiny seed and not as the person we could become. However, God envisions what He has purposed for us and sees us realizing our fullest potential. So the Lord is reminding us that unless we commit to arrive there, He cannot do anything.

Undeniably, when you make a commitment to Godís plan for your life, He will test you and see if you are fully committed. I remember one evening before a midweek service; God tested my commitment by showing me a part of my past on the evening news and what I had given up to follow Him. The lead story reported about the raises our local judges were receiving and I recall how I quietly wrestled with those facts on the way to service. Once at the ministry center, I entered into praise and worship. I remember a song we sang which included words about coming home, welcome home, or something to that effect and I thought to myself, ëHow appropriate for me.í The next day, I rushed up to the music directorís office asking him for the words to that song. To my surprise, none of the songs included any words that even reflected that message. God gave me that song to reassure me of His plan for my life. I knew then that although I had a former life as a judge, I was ready to fully commit to what God called me to do.

Chuck Swindoll writes in his book, Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back about four spiritual flaws in Christian life:

• Because you are a Christian, all of your problems are solved. Wrong! God promises us to be new creatures, that our destinies are secure. But in fact, our problems may even increase.
• All problems you will ever have are addressed in the Bible. Wrong again! There is no specific answer to every single problem we have.
• If you are having problems you are unspiritual. Not true! It simply proves you are human. In fact some of the most spiritual people in the Bible faced deep struggles.
• Being exposed to sound Bible teaching will automatically solve your problems. Declaration of truths through sound teaching will not result in instant solutions to problems and will not remove difficulties.

Being a Christian does not guarantee a smooth and trouble free life. On the contrary, you can be assured on being tested in different ways. Youíll probably get junk thrown your way, but God wants you to shake it off and let Him show you a way out. Donít allow circumstances to get you down. Instead, make a commitment to guard against wrong attitudes and see that within every obstacle, there is an opportunity for advancement and within every hardship a miracle to be discovered. For Jesus showed us how within every death there is new life to be resurrected. Even death could not stop Him, so keep pressing on!

As in the game of football, if a player runs out for a pass, and just when heís about to catch the ball for that guaranteed touchdown, he loses focus or changes his mind or is tired of the game ñ he inevitably drops the pass. We are sometimes like that player and feel that Godís promises are taking too long or it is too late for us. The things people say discourage us, or we are distressed by reminders of our past mistakes, or we get tired of life and feel it isnít worth the effort. Whatís more, sin may still be in our lives, so we get distracted and turn away at the last minute, missing what God has for us.

If you want Godís blessings, you have to catch the promises of God and grab hold of it for dear life ñ believe and receive. He says He will never leave you, He will bless you, He will forgive you, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Regardless of your mistakes, or of how many passes youíve dropped, God will always throw promises your way. He doesnít count the dropped passes, but rather sees who we can become in spite of it. Donít settle for second best, rather choose to put your past behind you and persist through adversity where you can receive His promises. Aspire for greatness for His Glory, then watch and see blessings fall your way.

What is it that the Lord has for you today? Believe in the promises of God and receive it. Our creation is in Him and our potential is based on the promises Heís given us. There are over 7,000 promises in the Bible designed to set us up for a life that is even greater than what we could ever imagine or even hope for. It is all a matter of faith and it is never too late to receive the promises of God.