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As defined in Webster's 1828 dictionary, development is “an unfolding; the discovering of something secret or withheld from the knowledge of others; disclosure; full exhibition.”

What you and I have in us is great, but it is not going to do any good if we do not take it and give it some form and shape that is going to help us and everybody else.

In 1 Peter 4:10 TEV we are told that we are to develop and use our gifts as a blessing to one another. That is why God gives us gifts, so we can be a blessing to others.

There is no excuse for any of us ever being bored or lonely because there is always someone out there who needs what we have. All we have to do is find them and start releasing our gifts for their benefit.

A real estate developer may have plans in his office for a new subdivision, but no one will ever see those plans become reality unless the developer takes them and does something with them. The same is true for us in the church. How many of us have good ideas and great plans but never do anything with them? Many of us are good at dreaming but are no good at all at making a practical, dedicated effort to develop our potential and manifest our dreams in our lives.

What lies between potential development and manifestation? Nothing so spiritual that nobody can figure it out, but just simple, everyday things like time, determination and hard work.

Nobody can be determined for us. We must be determined. If we are not determined, the devil will steal from us everything we have. But although we must be determined, we must not go to the extreme and become workaholics. We need balance in this area just as in every other area of our lives.

Later on in this book I will describe the time when the Lord spoke to my husband, Dave, and told him it was time for us to go into television ministry when we were just getting comfortable with being on the radio. Obviously, we had the potential to do that, but it had to be developed, and that kind of development does not come by sitting in a rocking chair taking it easy!

I have a saying, “If you're going to hang out with God, there ain't no retirement!” Whatever our age or situation, taking potential and transforming it into reality requires an investment of time, determination and a willingness to work hard.

NO RETURN WITHOUT INVESTMENT

Many people are not willing to invest anything with the hope of reaping a return from that investment somewhere down the road. Their philosophy is, “If I'm going to do anything right now, I want some pay right now. I want something back right now.”

In my own life, I started out in the ministry teaching twenty-five people who sat around together on my living room floor. I invested five years of my life into teaching those people with little or no financial return at all and often not much appreciation, just a lot of hard work. But those five years were developmental years for my teaching ministry today.

Not long ago my older son, David, who has started to teach and preach some, asked me if I had any notes on a certain subject. I have three file cabinets with three long drawers each that are full of message after message on a variety of subjects. Those files represent twenty-two years of hard work. So often people look at something like my ministry and they wish they had it. But they wouldn't want to invest the time and hard work it took to build it.

Most of us have no problem with wishbone; it's backbone that we are lacking.

Copyright © 2001 by Joyce Meyer

Tags: Christianity

About the Author

JOYCE MEYER has been teaching the Word of God since 1976 and in full-time ministry since 1980. She is the bestselling author of more than fifty inspirational books, including How to Hear from God, Knowing God Intimately, and Battlefield of the Mind. She has also released thousands of teaching cassettes and a complete video library. Joyce's Enjoying Everyday Life radio and television programs are broadcast around the world, and she travels extensively conducting conferences.