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Hi, this is Rick Bloodworth and the common this. Hi, my name is Rick Bloodworth. This is the Common Sense Christian channel, and I had a special message for those of you who've been listening on podcast. I'm starting to have some technical issues with the podcast. It's going to force me to. shut the podcast end of these down for a while. You can still watch the videos on YouTube, just go to Common Sense Christian YouTube channel and you'll be able to get the same thing you've been getting on the podcast just with a video attached to it. But for a while, this'll probably be the last podcast until I can sort out some of these technical issues. Today I wanted to talk about highest and best use. And to do, to do that, or to introduce that, I wanted to tell you a true story, one that happened to my youngest daughter when she was in junior high. She was on the track team and also the basketball team as well. But she wasn't just the best basketball player in the world, but she was pretty good at running. She had a coach that was her head track coach that was also the head basketball coach and as a matter of fact that's what he had been hired for was for the girls basketball program and he had kind of inherited the junior high track team by default there wasn't anybody else that wanted to take it and so he agreed to doing so and because of that while he was a very fine basketball coach and he was a really good friend in addition to that He didn't always make the best placements when it came to his different girls as far as the events that they would run. And, and the example that I have in mind was my daughter who is really a fast runner in the short distances. But when it came to setting the teams and, and the events they would run, this particular coach let all of his basketball girls, the ones that were the better girls, choose the events that they would run. That they wanted to run first and then the other girls were put just wherever they would fit in. And as a result, my daughter, who is a natural sprinter, ended up as a long distance runner and it really didn't work out all that good. She was okay at long distance. Matter of fact, I think she did, did fine in that. But she wasn't being used at her highest and best use. It wasn't until we had an actual track coach come along that, that put the girls in the races that fit their talents that things changed. As a matter of fact, this daughter became pretty good in the short sprints from the 100 yard dash to the 200, even the 400 yard or 400 meter run. She was pretty good at and and did did fairly well in those categories. As a matter of fact, so well. She eventually went on a full ride scholarship to run track at a university and even made the national competitions while she was there, achieving All American status a number of occasions. And so here is, here is the point. What happens when you don't get used or utilized at your highest and best use? And the answer is you just kind of flounder. You might do okay, but you're really not reaching your full potential. And I wanted to talk about that from a Christian perspective today. This idea of highest and best use has been something that's been an important part of my life, I suppose, since I started my first career in real estate appraising, oh, some 42 years ago. When I became a real estate appraiser I, I appraised primarily residential properties and did over 2, 000 appraisals over a period of a little over a dozen years, but in each appraisal, one of the things that I had to answer, one of the things I had to identify by. was its highest and best use. And since I was doing it for residential purposes, the question was, is a single family dwelling or even a multi family dwelling the highest and best use for this property? Because if it was not, the residential lenders did not want to make a loan on it. So if you had a property that would have been better used as a as an industrial property or as a commercial property, and somebody wanted to use it for their home, it's very likely that the lender wouldn't even make a loan on that property. There were some lenders that would, but, but not those who specialized in residential loans. And so highest and best use was something that I had to answer on a daily basis. The sad thing was while I was able to recognize highest and best use in, in real estate, I wasn't always able to recognize it in my own life. That kind of took a little bit longer. I'd been working as a residential real estate appraiser and really enjoying the career at that. But I came to the point where I started to think maybe this wasn't exactly the career I needed to be in. I'd been working with the youth group for, at the same time as I started my career in real estate appraising and I really enjoyed working with, with the kids at church and, and there was a number of occasions where I actually got up and, and, and did a sermon on Sunday mornings or Sunday evenings. And after a while, I finally determined that this This was the area that I felt like I needed to get involved with. So I quit my job as a real estate appraiser and, and was fortunate enough to get a a position as the, as the preacher in happy Texas of all places. And I loved it from the very beginning. It took me a while, I must admit to, to get trained and to become proficient in what I was doing. But it was something that I had a passion for. It was something that I had a deep interest in. And so I was willing to put in the work and the training that was required and the study that was required to be the type of of a preacher that I felt like I needed to be. And I felt like I could be, and that turned out to be a pretty good career, but much more important, it turned out to be a very good ministry. And until I retired about a year ago from, from full time preaching, one of the things that I was really blessed in was that I had a deep satisfaction with what I was doing. I felt like I was I was doing that which was my highest and best use. Now other people might not have agreed with that but as far as I could tell that was something that I really did feel like was the best use. Of of the abilities that God had given. There's a couple of passages in the Old Testament that speak to our purpose in life or our highest and best use. And, and interestingly enough, they're both from, from Kings of Israel. The first one I want to read from is from King Solomon 19 and verse 21. And it says this, many are the plans in a man's heart. but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. There are times in our life where we're really not doing what we know we really should be doing. If you ever get to a stage in your life where you're just really dissatisfied with where you're at, and I'm not talking about just some sort of a midlife crisis or some other difficult time that you're going through, or maybe you're just bored with what you've been doing, but I'm talking about the idea of not having lived up to the expectations that you might have for yourself, or that others might have even had for you, and you realize you could be doing better. I believe this is a indication that maybe you haven't been going in the direction that God had in mind for you. There's a lot of people who are not Christians. Everybody needs to be a Christian. We're all going to kneel before God on judgment day, and we're going to give an account for this life that we've lived. And if we're not in Christ, we're told within scripture that we don't have a hope for salvation. And so if you're not a Christian, you really need to be looking into that. You can be reading. I'd especially read the New Testament. You can determine for yourself if this is something that's real or not, if this is something that's genuine or not, if it makes, if it has good logic to it if it's an intelligent plan or not. God's given you a fine mind. So just take some time and figure this out. So if you're not a Christian, you need to start today on this. But even for those of us who are Christians, there are times where we realize that we're maybe involved in pursuits that are kind of empty. They might fill the time and they might even be temporarily enjoyable. But we're really not accomplishing anything for God. We're really not helping out our fellow man in any significant way. And at times like that, I believe we, we sometimes become naturally discontent with the direction of our lives. I think this is a good thing because if we're not meeting that potential, if we're not meeting the purpose that God has created us for, We need to be dissatisfied with our circumstances so that it might prompt us to go in the right direction. But again, many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. If you and I are doing our very best to do God's will, I believe that, and to figure out what the purpose he has for us in this life is, I believe that he will make sure that that purpose prevails. in other words that you succeed. What is it? The proverb says, commit to the Lord, whatever you do and your plans will succeed. We just need to be committed to God and we need to be making sure that we're trying to do his will and, and not our own. The other passage that I found found a very Interesting along the lines of this particular subject is found in the 138th psalm, and this is a psalm by King David. In verse 8, he says this. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Think about who was saying that. It was King David who was saying that. What kind of a life had he led? Well, he started out as just a humble shepherd boy, but while he was still taking care of the sheep in the fields, God set him apart to be king someday. God had a purpose that was higher than just taking care of the sheep. There's nothing wrong with taking care of sheep. If this is your highest and best use, if this is the purpose that God has in mind for you, and if you can help other people with, with that type of a of a career, that type of an occupation. We all, we all have different occupations and we all have different careers and you can, you can excel in anything that, that you really have a passion for, that God really wants you to do. When it says the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me, this shepherd boy, Who was set apart by God to become king actually became king. I really like that because there there is hope within that. You might feel like you're not really being given the opportunities to live up to the expectations that you have for yourself. Well, you do need to do some, take some initiative in this for yourself. This is, this is true. But we also need to trust that God will help us along the way, as he helped David. David, as he was a shepherd, was able to protect his sheep against a bear and even a lion at one point. Now, a shepherd boy is not able to do that on his own, but God helped him with that. This extended into his career, early career as a soldier. He came up to the battlefield lines. He was sent there by his father to check on his older brothers who were in the army and their champion or the champion of the army that was opposed to Israel, the Philistine army was Goliath. He was a giant of a man. No man could go up against him. But God's purpose for David was that he be able to do that. And so David did. And David had the courage to take a stand. And he was successful in that. And as the years went by, David advanced to the point where he eventually did become king of Israel. And he was one of the best kings that Israel ever had. He certainly had his flaws, and there was certainly a notable sin or two in David's life that he had to repent of. But I want to point out again, when David said, The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. He knew. That God is capable of doing anything that he wants to do. You and I need to have that type of faith in God. There may be some things that you feel like you'd like to do, but you're just a little too timid, a little too shy. Or maybe you feel like the circumstances just won't permit it. But if it's God's purpose for you that you achieve something and you're willing to do your part, there's no way that you won't achieve that. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for you if you'll let him. And so here we have this life we're living. And there are times in each one of our lives where we just, we, we just kind of are in a rut. And we're not satisfied with where we're at. It may very well be that this is God's way of showing us that we're not fulfilling the purpose that he had in mind for us. And so we need to start honestly exploring them. There's all sorts of things that you and I are incapable of. I'm 64 years old. I'll never play in the National Basketball Association, even though I really would have enjoyed doing so. I didn't have the particular set of talents and skill sets that one would need to be able to take part in that. And particularly at 64 years old. So there are some things that we have to admit would be impossible for us. On the other hand, don't limit yourself just because something is hard. And don't limit yourself. just because it doesn't seem like it's going to be an easy task. Sometimes the greatest things that we will ever do are the hardest things that we'll ever do. And sometimes we just need to get started. Sometimes we need other people to see our potential like that one coach saw in, in, in my daughter. Sometimes we need to have people recognize that maybe we're not being used to the fullest extent of the the potential that we have to achieve things and, and they can help us along the way. But more than anything, it will be God that helps us along the way if we're willing to do our part. Are you achieving your highest and best use in life? If not, Let me encourage you today to start, start exploring what that might be. Start exploring the potential purpose that God may have for you. You may have already found it. You may already be a very effective servant in, in, in God's kingdom. And, and my encouragement to you is keep going in that direction. But if you haven't been serving God to the best of your ability, let me encourage you today to start. realistically looking at the potential that you have and then to start boldly going in the direction that you feel very well might be your highest and best use in life. I guarantee you it's going to make a happier life. And at the end, there will be heaven when our real life begins. Make sure you're doing everything you can as, as God assists you to achieve his purpose for you in life. Meet your own expectations that you know you can achieve if you'll just put your mind to it when we talk about your highest and best use before God. And, and as you do that, I believe you're going to find a level of satisfaction and joy that perhaps you only dreamed was possible. Are you achieving your highest and best use? If not, let me encourage you to start today. And if you are, let me encourage you to keep on going. That's it for today. I pray that God will richly bless you as you seek to serve Him to the very best of your ability.