Made for More

The human brain is amazing. Its ability to instantly assimilate information, send messages to

other parts of the body, and compensate when one part is damaged can only be from a divine

Creator.

Scientists have been studying “brain mapping” since the 1800’s, and they still don’t fully

understand how our brains work. When I was first in college in 1978, my psychology textbook said humans use only 4% of their brains, leaving vast room for personal development. Later, scientists debunked this theory, saying if part of the brain truly didn’t work, it would lead to atrophy or physical disablement.

Instead, they proposed something called “neuroplasty”—the brain’s ability to compensate.

Neuroplasty gives us the capacity to train our brains to learn a new language, play a musical

instrument, or figure out different ways to accomplish tasks. Our brains can recruit existing neurons to take over when brain cells have suffered damage due to a stroke or other causes, or when one part of the body doesn’t work as well.

I understood that. With a lifelong visual loss, I’ve spent my life figuring out how to do things my

eyes couldn’t see to do. It became almost automatic. My mother, of the old school, felt I should learn how to sew my own clothes. My first lesson became a fight. I couldn’t see to thread a needle as my mother instructed, so, without hardly thinking about it, I put the thread between my forefinger and thumb, and then brought the needle down to the thread. I felt a surge of delight when I realized I could feel the sensation of the needle touching the thread.

My mother watched like a hawk. “That’s not how you thread a needle.”

Not known for backtalking my mother, I shot back, “That’s how I do it.”

Humanly speaking, we are all wired to do far more than we think we can do. That’s only a

starting point. My psychology textbook left out the factor of God’s Holy Spirit living within us and the power and resources God makes available to those who put their trust in Him. Through God’s power, we can go places, do things, and become renewed people that, at first, looks completely impossible.

What does that mean for the average Christian? If you feel God calling you to something you

are certain you can’t do, don’t sell God short. In and of yourself, no, you can’t. But through God’s

leading and by His power and grace, you can.

The Art of Becoming

Whenever I’ve read through the Bible, I’ve marveled that the biblical text lingers over the lives

of some characters more than others. I decided to take a deeper look at the biographies of people like Abraham, Moses, David, Esther, and Paul.

First, I was amazed that they all came from ordinary backgrounds. Abraham, Moses, and David

watched over sheep. Esther was a Jewish refugee in a foreign, godless country. Paul made tents and had too much intelligence for his own good. Yet all of them left an indelible impact on human history and touted a resume far beyond their human capacity. Abraham acclimated to a new culture at age seventy-five. Moses led half a million people to a new country. Esther became queen of that godless country. David was a renaissance man—poet, musician, warrior, and king. And Paul? This ferocious champion of the Jewish law became the spokesman for the riveting concept of God’s grace to those outside the Jewish nation.

Next, I noticed that they didn’t accomplish their calling in one day. Their resumes had zero

entries when God first beckoned them to follow Him. Most of them made mistakes--major

mistakes—in fulfilling God’s plans for their lives. We only see the impact they had when we can look at the complete picture of their lives long after their deaths.

That’s reassuring to me. On any given day, I may feel like I’m not fulfilling God’s calling on my

life. But I remind myself that God collects all my days, events, experiences, and actions that then

defines who I am in Christ. God sees the completed picture.

Finally, I notice that the Bible honors these people more for who they were than what they did.

They represented God by taking on His character and showing their faith and trust in Him. Abraham’s faith was his claim to fame. Moses could not have led the people without his close association with God. We know David, “the friend of God,” best by the Psalms he wrote, which demonstrate how it is possible to have an intimate relationship with God. Esther could not have saved her people without the courage that came from her faith in God. And Paul is the poster child of how God can rewire a person’s mindset and turn that person toward a totally different direction for God’s glory.

Made for More Includes You

Paul often wrote about God’s purpose and power to change us and expand our horizons. Even

before the world’s creation, God’s plan included fashioning humans with the capacity to be holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4). He would not have encouraged his Roman audience to be transformed so we can understand God’s will if mind renewal wasn’t possible (Romans 12:2). And he made it clear that this ability to redirect our lives and go beyond our human capabilities is not just another amazing part of the brain. It is through the power of God—the same power that could overcome death as shown by Jesus’ resurrection (Ephesians 1:18-20).

That’s a bunch of heavy theology. What does it mean for you and me? It means that through

God’s power, you can do far more than you think you can. You can be more than you’ve always been.

Even if you have been emotionally or spiritually damaged, God has the power to recreate and

transform you into the holy, blameless person He has always intended for you to be. If the Holy Spirit is within you, you have the capacity to love, forgive, show mercy, endure suffering, and proclaim God’s good news with wisdom and courage.

It will take time, in fact, a lifetime. But God has great plans for you. He invites you to let Him

show you just how much He can do within the life of one ordinary person. You can’t say, “this is the way I’m wired” or “This is just the way I am.” God sees you as you could be—stretched, changed, and doing amazing things through His resurrection power! The creation of your brain and the transformation of your spirit bear witness that God intended you for far more than you think you can do or be.

Let Him do it. Let Him show you how you are made for more. So much more!

Multi-published author, Karen Wingate, is also a speaker and Bible study leader. Her latest

book, Grateful Heart: 60 Reasons to Give Thanks in All Things, shares how we can be thankful even when life gets complicated. Karen and her husband live in Southern Arizona. Visit Karen at

www.karenwingate.com.