Anne frank once said, Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!
There are multiple stories about people, destined for greatness who simpy put threw it all away to the gooses. One such noteworthy example is Diego Maradona, the great Argentine footballer who once mesmerised and enchanted the whole world with his magical ability. He is arguably considered the best footballer of the century, a title only accorded to the great Pele himself . The artistry he exhibited with a football was pure magic and people who saw him play in his prime still reminisce his exploits on the field fondly, especially how he single handedly guided his nation to a world cup trophy in 1986 .
However due to his famed tomfoolery he couldn’t handle the unprecedented rise to stardom which sometimes assumed fanatical proportions across the globe. Maradona’s genius was often undone by an unquenchable thirst for self-destruction that came to a head on June 30th 1994 when he tested positive for a banned drug , despite similar warnings and precautions issued by people who loved him. He was banned from playing football by FIFA and could never recover from that shock again. If only he knew His potential he would have been wiser in the way he conducted himself. Such a pity, he was destined for so much more but succumbed to his madness and failed to hold the reigns to his own life.
A similar biblical example is of Samson. Samson is among the rare characters in the bible whose birth was divinely pre-announced to his parents. He was born a Nazirite, meaning he was “separated” or “set aside” for God. This meant he was not supposed to drink wine or fruit of the vine. He also couldn’t go near or even touch a dead body, human or animal, nor could he cut his hair (which was the secret of his God ordained strength). Though knowing this fully well that he was set apart for a special service to God, Samson consciously ignored these Nazirite vows of Godly devotion and relied upon his own strength and abilities rather than upon God’s. God empowered him with supernatural strength to begin the deliverance of His people (the Israelites) from the Philistines, but his serenading weakness for the foxy and charming Philistine women did him in.
His desire or lust for women became important to him than God’s expressed will. It was this passionate obsession for Delilah that led him to reveal to her the secret of his amazing strength. His hair was shorn by Delilah, and, as a result, he was captured, blinded, and forced to grind grain for his enemies. Eventually, while in prison, Samson’s strength did return, and he died while destroying the temple of the Philistine god Dagon, killing thousands of Philistines, more than the number of those he ever killed in his whole lifetime.
Such a shameful ending to a man who was hailed to be a saviour for his generation. His life ended on a tragic note. A man of valour and extraordinary strength, born to be a hero dies with one last redeeming act of divine strength. God did have mercy on Samson even in his last dying moments but his story could have been so different had he realised the enormity of the call and potential that God had placed in his life.
God has placed immense potential in all of us and we need to seek the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit to tap into those resources and walk with God into the glorious life He has kept in store for all of us.
Paul Samuel
Paul is serving as the Worship Coordinator of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at musicbuff99@gmail.com
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