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Your Perspective Determines Your Potential
Number 13:30
"And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it."
Your perception will ultimately determine your potential. If you are one who always sees the glass half empty, then your potential for life will be extremely limited. However, if you are one who always sees the glass half full, then your potential is unlimited. A person's potential is determined by their perspective. This is why you must learn to choose the proper perspective in life.
The twelve spies who spied the land of Canaan displayed this principle to perfection. Two spies had a positive outlook on what God could do, while ten spies let the negative determine their outlook. The two spies said, "...for we are well able to overcome it." The ten spies said in verse 33, "And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak,..." Two spies knew that God had the power to help them do what He commanded them to do, while the ten spies' lack of faith caused them to see the negative, which eventually eliminated any potential these men had.
By nature humans are negative. Sin always causes you to see the negative. Because everybody is a sinner, then everybody naturally has a negative perception. However, faith is the antidote for your perception. Faith is what causes a person to turn their perception from negative to positive. When you see things through the prism of faith, then you never let the negatives limit your potential. It is important that you learn to look through the eyes of faith and not through your natural eyes.
Always remember that your potential is determined by your perception. When you see things in a negative light, then you have set up barriers which most likely you will not cross. However, when you see the positive through the eyes of faith, your potential has no limit because your God has no limit. If you are going to see the positive through the eyes of faith, then you must purposely look for the positive in everything. There is always something positive in every situation. You may have to look hard to see the positive, but it is there. The negative is seen through a casual glance, but the positive is seen through a principled look. Eventually, you will train your perception to see the positive if you continue to look for it in every situation.
Let me ask you, do you see the positive or negative in your spouse? If you always see the negative, then you are destroying the potential of your marriage. However, if you see their positives, then the potential of what your marriage can become is limitless with God's help.
Furthermore, do you see the positive or negative in your children? Too many parents provoke their children to wrath by seeing the negative in them all the time. When children are constantly bombarded with the negative of what they do, then they will eventually get frustrated with their parents and will do the negative on purpose. As a parent you must train yourself to see the positive in your children. Remember, you increase their potential by pointing out the positives you see in them.
Finally, do you see the positive or negative in every area of your life? How do you perceive things at your church? How do you perceive things on the job? How do you perceive your future? To increase your potential in any area, you will have to start seeing the positive side of things. Always remember that your potential is as great as your perception. Be careful not to limit your potential by having a negative outlook, but remove the ceiling of your potential by having a positive outlook in everything that you do.