Challenge Your Ability

Challenge Your Ability

author:Myles Munroe

Your ability needs responsibility to expose its possibilities. Do what you can with what you have where you are.

Theodore Roosevelt

The people who are blessings to humanity are usually men and women who decide there is more to them than what other people have said. People who bless the world are people who believe there is an ability inside them to accomplish something that has never been done. Though they may not know exactly what they can do, they try because they believe they can accomplish something.

HOW HIGH CAN YOU JUMP?

I remember the day I found out that I can jump really high—about 8 feet high. Now, I can’t jump that high intentionally, but I did it once when I was a little boy. There was a lady who lived behind our house from whose fruit trees we would occasionally feast and help ourselves. When we were little kids, we would crawl under the fence. One day while I was on her side of the fence, her very vicious dog suddenly appeared. I had just touched down after climbing the fruit tree. As I carefully considered the distance between the fence, the dog, and myself, I knew I had to make a run for it. I ran toward the fence with the dog close behind me. As the fence came closer and closer, all I could say was “O God, I’m dead.” All I could think was “jump.” As I left the ground, my heart was pounding and my chest felt like an arcade full of shouting people. I was so afraid! When I landed, I was safely on the other side of the fence. When I turned around and looked at the dog, he was barking angrily because he couldn’t get over the fence. I just thought, “Yea, good for you.” Suddenly I became very proud because I had gotten away from him. But when I started to realize what I had done, I looked at the fence and thought, “How did I do that?” I thank God for that dog. He was a blessing in my life. I never jumped that high before, and I never have since, but at least I know that I did it. I discovered that day there is a lot more potential in me than I realized was there. The same is true for you. You aren’t doing more because no one has challenged you. I want to take you from the realm of waiting for people to challenge you and encourage you to challenge yourself. Don’t wait for a dog to teach you how to jump. Jump by your own challenge. Don’t just look at life and say, “Well, I’m going to wait until a demand is made on me and then I will produce.” Make a demand on yourself. Say to yourself, “Look, I am going to become the best in this area no matter what people have done before me.” Then go after that. You will accomplish it if you set out to do it.

TELL ME TO COME

That reminds me of a young fisherman who decided, “I’m going to take a chance and try to walk on water.” One night as the disciples were crossing Lake Galilee it was hard rowing. They were being tossed about by the waves because the wind was against them. As they struggled, a man came toward them, walking on the water. In fear they cried out, “It’s a ghost.” Only when He spoke to them did the disciples recognize that it was Jesus. Peter then said, “Lord, if it’s you…tell me to come to you on the water” (Matthew 14:28). And when Jesus said “Come!”, Peter had the guts to respond to Jesus’ order. I believe every one of those disciples could have walked on water. The potential was in them even as it was in Peter. But only Peter succeeded, because only Peter had the guts to say, “If you challenge me, I’ll take your challenge.” Although we may laugh or criticize Peter for sinking, none of us has ever walked on water. He’s the only guy who can say in heaven when we get there, “I walked on water. What did you do?” Everybody sees Jesus, but very few of us ask Jesus, “Tell me something to do. Give me something to challenge my potential.” Men and women who are assets to the world and bring change for the better are those who give their potential something to maximize. Give your ability a responsibility; that would change the world. There is a wealth of ability in you, but you haven’t given it any responsibility. Don’t die without maximizing your ability—that’s irresponsible. You have no right to die with what God put in you to live out.

DON’T WAIT TO BE CHALLENGED

God has promised that He can do far more than you can think or imagine. His power is available to you. Is that power working in you? Are you saying to God: “I’ve got some power, now work it for me. Give me something to do”? God has given you a skill or ability the world needs. He has been waiting for your birth. Perhaps He planted within you a unique ability to work for life. Imagine a dead baby turning purple in your hand. Others are thinking “undertaker,” but you know that God has given you a potential to restore life. You believe God and pray, by the power of His Spirit, “God, this dear baby must live.” Even though someone might overhear you, and that makes your prayer all the more difficult, you tap into the potential God planted deep within you and believe for the baby’s life.

God has given you a skill or ability the world needs.

Miracles happen when we give our potential responsibility. God designed it that way. Don’t allow the things within you to die with you because you did not challenge them. God planted the seed of potential within you. He made you according to the potential principle—like the rest of His creation. Don’t waste that gift. Give your potential some responsibility.

BEAT THE ODDS

Men and women who make changes in history are those who have come against the odds and told the odds it is impossible for the odds to stop them. Don’t throw yourself away—don’t let anyone else throw you away because you are up against some odds. The minute we see somebody in a wheelchair something happens to us. We think the person is half a person. We almost treat him as if we apologize for his condition. We look at people who are blind…who have a withered hand…who walk with a limp…who have only one arm as though they are half a person. We limit their potential to the wheelchair or the limp or the missing hand or the short arm. We reduce everybody to their bodies. You are not your body. Some of the greatest minds in the world are in wheelchairs. I think about President Roosevelt in a wheelchair. Did you ever think an invalid could be the president of one of the greatest nations on earth? I think of a young boy I recently read about. A great mathematician, he’s suffering from a disease that destroys his bones. He’s just sort of fading away. You should see him. He looks ugly compared to what we call beauty. His glasses are falling off on the side because his face is falling in. His nose is almost gone. His teeth are all messed up. His whole body is warped. He can’t write. But they say he has the greatest mathematical calculations of our day. Professors come to his home, sit at his desk, and write everything he says. They are developing mathematical books for the universities from this brain in the chair. His illness has not destroyed his potential. His genius is not affected by his physical appearance. He’s a young man who is beating the odds by using all the formulas God stored within him. Suppose you end up in a wheelchair next year with all the brains you have right now. Will you quit? Is your dream related to your body? Don’t say “no” too fast. Some of you would just quit and get totally depressed and so sad. You’d say, “Oh, life didn’t work out for me,” and you’d allow all the dreams you have right now to die in the chair. You’d simply quit.

Suppose you end up in a wheelchair next year with all the brains you have right now. Will you quit?

I think about Mr. Penney who started J.C. Penneys. Born an orphan with no mother and no father (he didn’t even know who his parents were), he refused to be like many people I know who sit around and say: “Everybody treats me bad. No one cares for me. I guess I ought to go on drugs and just blow it.” Penney decided that there was a food store in him and a clothing store and a department store. So he acquired his first job working in a store packing bags. I can almost hear him saying in his mind as he packed bags one day: “One of these days they’re going to pack these for me.” Like many others who have given much to mankind, Penney believed that he had the ability to make something of his life. And now we go and spend our credit card money at his J.C. Penney stores. Don’t give up because you are physically handicapped. Don’t give up if you are facing great odds. Your potential is not determined by whether you can see the fine print of a book, walk across the street or lift heavy objects with both hands. Your potential is not destroyed because your mother is an alcoholic, your father’s a junkie or you have no parents at all. There are many people in wheelchairs who have given up. There are many people who come from the wrong side of town or a bad family situation who have given up. Don’t be one of them. Beat the odds.

SHORTCUTS DON’T WORK

Ben Johnson is an athlete from Canada who set many world records. In 1987 he set the world record in the 100 yard dash at 9.83 seconds. In 1988 he broke his own record, winning the race in 9.79. But it is difficult to be correct in calling that a world record because the last record set was not the record of Ben Johnson. It was the record of a steroid pill. That record belongs to Ben Johnson plus the chemicals. We will never know Ben Johnson’s potential as far as running the 100 yard dash is concerned. Could he have run 100 yards in 9.79 seconds without the chemical? Possibly, but we will never know because Ben Johnson negated his potential by trying a shortcut. There was no reason for his shortcut. He had a world record. He had his name in history, and it was a good name. How sad to destroy a good name by a little bit of chemical. I picked up a magazine on an airplane in which there was an advertisement that said, “Would you like a doctorate degree? Call us.” I often read that advertisement and wonder how many have called them. If I did not realize that you cannot get something for nothing, I probably would have called them. Many have. There are people out there with doctorate degrees, or with doctorate letters in front of their names, who will never know their potential. They didn’t allow themselves the chance to see what they could really do. They have the degrees, but they didn’t fulfill the requirements. There are no shortcuts to developing your potential. You will never know what you might have achieved if you use a crutch to get there. You’ll never know what you may have learned if you get a degree without fulfilling the requirements. You will never know what you can do if you attempt to obtain it by a shortcut. Shortcuts negate potential. They destroy the possibilities God planted within you.

DEMAND SOMETHING OF YOUR POTENTIAL

After God created Adam, He gave him a job. God knew Adam’s potential to name all the animals would never be released unless it was challenged. Potential must be exercised to be fulfilled. Demands must be made on potential if it is to be released and fulfilled. God has given you potential. Unless you make demands on it, you will die with it. Unless you venture to try things you’ve never done before, you’ll never experience the wealth that lives within you. Decide today, “I’m going to do something I’ve never done before.” “I’m going to get a promotion this year in my job.” “I’m going to win more people to Jesus this year than my church and my pastor ever did.” If you have a business, resolve to cut the overhead and increase service. Give your potential some demands. It needs to be maximized and challenged.

Potential must be exercised to be fulfilled.

The greatest works in the world will be done by people who don’t care who gets the credit. I don’t want to be famous, I just want to be faithful. I don’t want to be well-known, I want to be well-used. I don’t want to be powerful, I want to be potent. Success requires striking out on new paths instead of traveling those that are well-worn. Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. There are many people with great ideas, but they have no desire to try. There are four steps to the accomplishment of your dream: Prepare prayerfully. Plan purposefully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently. Failure is the path of least persistence.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO TRY

No one can climb beyond the limitations he has placed on himself. Success is never final—failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts—courage and the willingness to move on. A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to the grave, obscure men, whom fear and timidity have prevented from making their first attempt to do something. Never tell a person that something can’t be done, because God may have been waiting for centuries for someone ignorant enough to believe that the impossible could be possible.

Success is never final—failure is never fatal.

The poorest of men are men without a dream. Don’t be so afraid of failure that you refuse to try. Demand something of yourself. Failure is only an incident. There’s more than the failure—there’s success deep behind that failure. Failure is the opportunity to more intelligently begin again. When you fail, that is a great chance to start again. Learn from it and move on. Don’t be paralyzed by the failure. One good thing about failure is that it is proof that you tried. The greatest mistake you can make is to be afraid of making one. People who do nothing in life are usually people who do nothing. People who don’t make mistakes in life are usually people who didn’t have a chance to make any because they never tried. Challenge your potential. Demand things of yourself that are beyond what you have already done. Expect more from yourself than the accomplishments that are easily within your reach. What you have is not all you are. The limit of your potential is God. It is better to attempt a thing and fail, than to never try and not know you could succeed.

PRINCIPLES
Believe there is potential in you to accomplish something worthwhile.
Unless you use your potential, you will never realize how much ability is inside you.
Jump by your own challenge. Don’t wait for someone to challenge you.
Don’t let the odds that are against you stop you from fulfilling your potential.
Shortcuts negate your ability.
Don’t be so afraid of failure that you refuse to try.