You’ve been on a grind your whole life, from the SAT to the GRE. You hold active membership in too many clubs to count. And these days, you find yourself comparing your Linked In profile with a random kid from your Econ class. You start to worry about the limitations this pandemic has put on your career progress. You start asking the hard questions. How do I know if I'm doing "enough"? What if nobody takes me? What if I'm wasting my time? What are my post-grad plans? Who exactly am I supposed to be?
If this doesn't sound like you, then you at least know the type. But regardless of whether you're the A+ overachieving president of your business club or more of a type B kind of fish still trying to figure out your place in the too-big-yet-too-small pond of life, you can probably agree: once you hit 20, the pressure is on. Everyone -your parents, professors, peers, and even the bloggers telling you to do XYZ to land your dream job or bake the perfect cake- they all expect you to "reach your full potential." But what does that even mean?
To many, it can look like snagging the right job opportunities or finally transferring out of your CC into a "good" school. These aren't bad things in themselves. But let's be real- there is pressure coming from all around us and it can be overwhelming to say the least. Suddenly, it's all on you.Those of us who tend to procrastinate might need a little push at times and sometimes our older brothers and sisters can help by giving practical advice about navigating the big scary mountains of Adult Life. All fine, all dandy. But we need to be weary.
The Enemy often uses powers of comparison to drive despair; Satan loves to keep you in his little worldly convection oven until the smothering heat becomes unbearable. You NEED to do better. How come you're not the one getting that internship, those grades? Why can't you be more like him? Or her? You're not at your best, and they're laughing at you. You should do better, go higher. Why aren't you?
Now let's get some things clear. Does God love a hard worker? Absolutely, but one who depends entirely on the Lord for his or her strength (Colossians 3:23-24, Psalm 147: 10-11). Does God hate the kids who manage to grab the high paying jobs straight out of college? Not at all! But in order to make sure we don't stay cooped up in the Enemy's pressure cooker, we have to have a better understanding of what it means to "Reach Our Full Potential" in Christ, rather than sticking with the world's limited definition for the phrase.
So what do we need to understand?
1. God is the one who shapes you, molds you, and conforms you to the image of Christ a.k.a. the best version of yourself (Romans 8:29, Ephesians 2: 10, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13). While Holy-Spirit-empowered-discipline and proactive servant-hood are wonderful and necessary components of your walk, you need to remember Who gave you that new heart, that new drive. Without God, we are helpless, poor in Spirit, needy, essentially incapable of doing any good apart from Him (Psalm 16:2, Ephesians 2:1-7, Romans 8:7-8). Without Him, you would not even know His name, much less praise it or seek it out. But at His hand, by grace, He can provide all that we need and act as our Creator every day as we are sanctified according to His loving purpose. (Romans 8:9-11). That's right, He's still working on you! And no failure, no shortcoming, no missed opportunity is going to impede His progress. So focus a little more on what HE'S doing.
2. We are not to be conformed to the patterns of this world but transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). This doesn't mean we're not to pursue jobs or be good students; rather, we must do all things in obedience to God rather than in obedience to a worldly pressure. If we work hard in class or enter a new workplace, it is in obedience to God's calling. Follow where His Holy Spirit guides you, give Him room to speak and ask Him where He wants you to be. Use your time as He wills, and seek out His will in the Word and in prayer. Discerning His plan for you can be tricky at times, especially when it comes to big life decisions or enduring seasons of waiting, but have faith that God will lead you in the way you are to go, correcting you if you lean a little to the right or to the left (Psalm 32:8, Isaiah 30:21, John 10:2-4, Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28). Remember to do what you do in submission to the One who loves you and wants your greatest good for His glory, through His holy love.
3. What does God want for you? What are His expectations? This list isn't exhaustive, but...
Receive Christ and be saved, gaining eternal life (John 3:16)
Firstly, love God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:36-38), and secondly, love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39)
Trust God to be your provider. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and your needs will be added to you (Matthew 6:25-33)
He wants to give you every spiritual blessing, so you can be holy and blameless as He chose you to be; this is what He adopted you into (Ephesians 1:3-7)
He wants you to rely on Him, not your own strength (Psalm 147: 10-11)
He wants you to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20)
He wants you to walk by the Spirit (Romans 8)
He wants you to know in deep in your heart the love of Christ for you and for others, being strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit so you may receive this revelation (Ephesians 3:16-19)
He wants you to receive rest from Him (Matthew 11: 28-30)
He wants you to receive blessings from Him (Psalm 23:5-6)
Keep these things in your heart so you can set your mind on achievements for the kingdom of God! And remember, it is the Holy Spirit who helps you to do all these things (Romans 8). Don't worry, you don't have to do this on your own strength! God is your help.
4. The Devil is your accuser (you're not good enough); Jesus is your Advocate (you don't have to be "good enough" for My love- I desire you, yearn for you, still). (Revelation 12:10, 1 John 2:1, Jeremiah 31:20)
Now let's back up and do a perspective check. It's all about God, in His power and by His gracious love, actively helping and allowing you to reach your greatest potential in Christ; He's helping you be the best version of you for His kingdom, for His own good pleasure, and for your own good. As we continue to look more and more like Jesus, our desires become conformed to His own; we start to want more of the Word, we want to love others better, we want to serve, we want to repent, and this is not our own doing but God's. And even as the desires of our hearts become pure and joyful, as God satisfies these desires with rushes of sweet and healing Living water, remember:
There's no striving in His grace. He is merciful, He is a God Who gives, and He gave the greatest gift of all far before you ever thought of desiring Him.
And guess what? He'll continue to give you "every spiritual blessing" and more, in life abundant. You don't need to work at Google or be Summa Cum Laude to make Him proud of you. You don't have to look like everybody else. He just wants you to love and obey Him, and He's going to help you do that.
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