Who Told You?

You can reach your full potential, but it will require you to question and stand up to the “Who Told You’s.” Soon after the first man, Adam had fallen from grace, God had a conversation with him and asked him several questions one being, “Adam who told you that you were naked?” It is those three words that we must question and stand up to so we can reach our full potential. Who told you?

Sonia was 13 when she gave birth to Ben, two years later at the age of 15 she gave birth to Curtis. She had no education and worked from sun up to sun down as a scrubwoman. Sonia found herself raising two boys without a husband in the ghettos of Detroit during the 1950s and 60s. Being an African American at that time was not in her favor. Their lives began to change with the possibility of gangs and drugs as Ben and Curtis were getting older.

One afternoon Sonia received a phone call from the school asking to see her. They informed her of her son’s progress which was terrible. They had zero interest in school and were failing all of their classes. Faced with eventually losing them to the streets, Sonia locked herself in the back room of her apartment and prayed for hours. When she emerged from her room, she told Ben and Curtis that God had spoken to her and that they were to read two books a week and write a report. Being respectful of their mother the boys went daily to the school library read books and wrote reports. Sonia never told them she couldn’t read.

After several weeks of this exercise one day, Ben was in his 5th-grade science class when the teacher asked the class a question. Ben was the only one that knew the answer. It was because he had read a book that week on that subject. Ben’s teacher could hardly believe that Ben knew the answer, but he did to the amazement of everyone. Ben later said, “It was at that moment, that exact moment that I knew one thing, that God had made me smart.” Ben questioned, challenged all the “Who Told You’s” and so must you to reach your full potential.

Ben Carson went on to become one of the greatest neurosurgeons in the world. To reach your full potential, challenge all the “Who Told You’s” or to hear this story and more,

You can preview the first part of this series called “How To Change Your Future” and begin to change yours. Buy the full series.

-Dr. Rob Carman, Is the founder of Victory World Missions, a prolific author, church planter and well-know conference speaker. www.robcarman.com