When God created man, he put in each of us fantastic potential. God himself acknowledged that “nothing they set their minds to will be impossible for them” {Genesis 11:6}. God created everyone to be unique. Just like no two people have the same fingerprint, so do different people with different potential. The first step to fulfilling your prospect is first to understand your potential. What innate quality can make the impossible possible, and how can you harness it in your daily life?

What is potential?

There are several closely related definitions of the word. Some of them are

“someone’s or something’s ability to develop, achieve, or succeed...” – Cambridge English dictionary

“latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success or usefulness...” – Oxford English dictionary

“Capable of being but not yet in existence; latent or undeveloped…” – yourdictionary.com

From these definitions, we can understand certain things:

• Potential is innate. it is natural and good given abilities
• Potential is not yet being utilized, something that does not yet exist but can.
• Potential requires some training or a specific set of circumstances to be realized.

A good illustration of the concept of potential is the fruit seed. Under the right conditions, every seed has the potential to become a fruit tree. This tree can then bear fruits, each containing seeds that can also become fruit trees. Then we can say that each source has the potential to become an orchard. If the right conditions are not provided, this potential remains only that, never becoming a reality.

Therefore, the first step in fulfilling your potential is understanding your potential.

What is the extent of what you can do and achieve? The simple answer is this – whatsoever you desire.

1. Whatever God commands: When God created the first couple, he gave him certain instructions. These instructions may have seemed like God was demanding a lot from them. But God knew what was in them. He knew that they had this potential because potential is there to help them achieve the purpose He created them. Some of these are

• He asked them to dress and keep the garden{Genesis 2:15}. This signifies that God has put the creative ability to work and influence your world in each person. Man has realized some of this potential. If Adam had the opportunity to see the world today, it would leave his jaws hanging. And yet, we’re nowhere near the end of this potential creative God has put in humankind. You have the potential to create solutions to the problems that challenge you. You have the potential to change your life and your world to suit you. You have this potential because God has this incredible creative power, and you were created in his image to be exactly like him!
• He asked them to be fruitful and multiply: over seven billion humans on Earth today. But God created one man and one woman. That means that that first couple had the potential to become seven billion people(and more!). To be fruitful and multiply does not just refer to procreation but also to building a legacy. God expects you to bear when you have fulfilled your purpose by doing that unique thing that you alone can do. Teach people about how you achieved success so that others can tap from your experience and go on to fulfill their purpose. You are blessed to be a blessing and influence people around you for God and success. You may never be a keynote speaker or give a Ted talk, but you can still affect lives in your immediate circle, friends, your children, nieces and nephews, kids in the neighborhood, even your parents. When you do this, you utilize God’s potential in you to be fruitful and multiply.
• He asked them to have dominion: The word dominion in Genesis 1:28 is very significant, and the word connotes taking control – leadership. Therefore, God has placed leadership potential in us. Many people stumble here because they don’t realize that leadership is a call to service, not to be served. The purpose of a leader is to organize a people’s efforts to achieve a common goal. So when you are called into a position of leadership by God, do not struggle with feelings of insufficiency because God has already put in you the potential for this and more.

Therefore, there is nothing that God asks you to do that he hasn’t given you the ability for. God still gives us commands today through his word, spirit, and other ways. Whenever you receive explicit instruction from God, know that you already have its capacity or potential. If you think you can’t do it, you haven’t understood your full potential.

2. Whatsoever you desire, One crucial tool that God has put in you to help you understand your potential is your imagination. When you want something, you begin to meditate on how possible it can be. Your vision presents several possible ways to achieve this, and sometimes, not everything you imagine seems feasible. But just about 150 years ago, the electric bulb was a simple figment of someone’s imagination, yet today we can’t imagine life without it. So to understand your potential, you have only to think about what you want, what bothers you, what angers you, what moves you to tears. These things that speak to you on a personal level are things that give you a clue of the potential within you.

A word of caution, though: the fall came with several consequences, one of which is the struggle with the flesh. Sin can pervert the imaginations of a man’s mind {Romans 8:5}. If a person walks after the flesh, then the creativity of their heart is desperately wicked {Genesis 6:5}, giving them the potential for great evil. A perfect example of this is with Cain. Without any precedent, he developed his potential for murder because his heart was not right with God {Genesis 4:1-8}

Finally, a good understanding of your true potential requires a good relationship with God through the holy spirit. This requires you to study the Bible daily, pray constantly, and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. When you do this, you will receive Revelations of who you are, who you were created to be. A winner. A success. Prosperous. Victorious. More than a conqueror! Only then can you begin to truly understand the extent of God’s potential on you and begin to fulfil your true destiny as God desires.