You see my light doesn’t shine because of you. It shines because of Him and I won’t dim it for you because then others will not see HIM in me.
By Vionette LeGrand
Ever since I was a child, I remember struggling with the need to be known and loved. As I grew up, I would test people on what they liked and didn’t like. I would change my behaviors and who I was just to be known and loved by them because that is what they approved. I would dress the way that they wanted me to dress and do the things that they wanted me to do just to be loved and known. I would say that many of us desire to be loved and known by our friends, family, strangers, and etc. I would even dare to say that we have changed who we were at one point or another to be liked by others.
Little by little, I started to notice that other peoples’ voices were louder in my ear than God’s voice in my life. If they said, “I don’t think that is what God wants you to do in this season.” I wouldn’t do it. Little did I know that I was treading dangerous waters. For two years of my life, I allowed myself to be consumed by what others thought I should do, and completely ignored what God was asking me to do. I began to dim my talents and gifts for others so their gifts and talent could shine.
That is when I learned I was Limiting my Potential. How many of us have limited our potential because of others? They might of told us things like “That is not your talent.” “You will never be good at that.” “I don’t expect you to know that because you don’t know what you are doing.” “You should focus on what your good at.” I believe that each of us has heard at least one of those phrases. I remember not being allowed to do certain things in an old job because I was told I didn’t have the gift and it wasn’t my position to do it. I was talked about within the team and stripped of even the authority that I was given because other teammates didn’t believe I had the gifts to get the job done. This cause me to stay quiet and not show who God created me to be. I began to doubt what I was capable of because of what other people thought of me.
Many of us wait for others to give us the approval we need to exercise the gifts and talents that we are given by God. In 1 Peter 4:10-11 it says,
“10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”1
In the Bible, it says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others.” It doesn’t say wait for the approval of others to use your gift. I believe that we often fall into the lies of this culture that says we need to be seen by others and told that we have a gift to be able to use it. Then when others do not notice our talents, we stay quiet because we believe we do not have talent, and even if we did, no one would care.
In our daily life, we need to remember that the life we live is not decided by others. It is decided by God, and if he tells us to use our gifts then we need no one else’s approval.
By Vionette LeGrand
When we do not use the gifts and talents that God has given us we not only limit our potential, but we are not being faithful stewards of what God is giving us. Even when others tell us that we are not good at something, when we know we are, we should never allow the voice of the person to consume the command that God gave us in 1 Peter 4:10-11. We use our gifts and talents to glorify God, but when we limit ourselves, other people do not get to experience God. Each of us is given several different gifts. Each season will require us to use those gifts so let’s remember to use them. In our daily life, we need to remember that the life we live is not decided by others. It is decided by God, and if he tells us to use our gifts then we need no one else’s approval.
You see, I used to be a girl who limited my potential, but I don’t anymore. Many would say it’s because I don’t care, but it’s because I care that I refuse to dim my light. To the person who has fear gripping them, and feels like they are not good enough. You are good enough. The reason you are good enough is because He says you are enough. To the person that hasn’t started their new business because people said you would never succeed. God promises us that everything we touch is prosperous. To the person that hears those lies inside their head that you will never fulfill everything that God has called you to do. Everything will happen in time, you just need to be still. To the person that has experienced their potential and its limitless power. Don’t forget to encourage others.
To the person that said I wasn’t good enough and made me dim my light. I am not that person anymore. You see, my light doesn’t shine because of you. It shines because of Him, and I won’t dim it for you because then others will not see HIM in me.
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1 Pet. 4:10-11