Potential

Are you in a season of waiting where it feels like you’ve been “stacked aside”? How might God be preparing you for a future purpose you cannot yet see? 

Driving through East Texas, I passed a lumber mill where tall stacks of cut pine logs stretched high against the sky. They stood in neat, ordered rows—bark rough, edges squared—waiting their turn to be milled. From a distance they appeared quiet, almost lifeless, yet I knew their story was far from over. Each log carried potential: to be cut into boards that would frame homes, shaped into beams that would support bridges, or crafted into furniture that families would cherish for generations. Perhaps that is why the area I call home is nicknamed “The Jewel of the Forest.” Truly, each tree holds hidden treasures.

What struck me most was the order. The logs were not tossed in a heap but placed carefully, stacked with intention. The mill workers hadn’t just seen trees; they had recognized future potential and stacked the inventory with care.

Isn’t that how God works with us? We may feel like rough logs—cut down, stacked aside, waiting—but in the Lord’s hands, there is purpose in the order and promise in the waiting. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

The pine logs of East Texas don’t yet know if they will become walls that shelter families, rafters that hold strong through storms, or tables around which children will laugh and pray. But their future usefulness is certain. In the same way, our lives in Christ are marked with potential far beyond what we can see. God shapes us, seasons us, and sets us in place so that we may bless others in ways that endure.

The Psalmist reminds us, “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God” (Psalm 92:12–13). Even when life feels like a season of being “stacked in storage,” God is preparing us for fruitfulness and service.

Just as the pine of the forest becomes houses, bridges, and tools to strengthen communities, so God calls us to be living sacrifices (Romans 12:1), offering our gifts, time, and love to build His kingdom. Our usefulness may take many forms, but all are meant to serve and glorify Him.

The next time you drive past a lumber mill in East Texas, let those tall stacks of pine remind you: in Christ, nothing is wasted. God orders, shapes, and repurposes every season of our lives. Our potential in His hands will bless others far beyond our days.