Loved but Underperforming: Are You Stewarding What God Gave You?

I Was Watching Her

In my previous post, I shared how I caught my daughter skipping stations during gymnastics practice.

She would glance toward her coach and, when she thought no one was watching, quietly move past an exercise she was supposed to complete.

We had a conversation afterward about discipline and why her coach expected her to work through every station.

But there is another side to this story that has stayed with me.

I was watching her.

And because I am her mother, I knew something she seemed to have forgotten in that moment.

She was capable of completing those stations.

I had watched her develop her skills. I had seen what she could do when she applied herself. I knew the effort she was capable of giving.

So when she skipped those exercises, my disappointment wasn't simply that she had broken a rule.

It was that she was missing an opportunity to develop abilities I knew she possessed.

And I began thinking about our heavenly Father.

What Does God See When He Looks at You?

We often look at ourselves through the lens of our current performance.

We see our weaknesses. Our failures. Our inconsistencies.

The things we have not yet accomplished.

But God knows us far more completely than we know ourselves.

He knows the gifts He has entrusted to us.

He knows the opportunities He has placed before us.

He knows the grace He has made available to us.

And He knows the purposes for which He created us.

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

Ephesians 2:10 describes us as God's workmanship.

That means our lives are not accidents.

There is purpose in our existence, and there is meaningful work for us to do.

But recognizing that God has given us gifts and purpose is not the same as faithfully developing and expressing them.

Potential is not the same as maturity.

And having an assignment is not the same as fulfilling it.

What Are You Doing With What God Entrusted to You?

Jesus told a parable in Matthew 25 about a master who entrusted his possessions to three servants before going on a journey.

One servant received five talents.

Another received two.

And the third received one.

Each received according to his ability.

When the master returned, the first two servants had put what they received to work and produced an increase.

The third servant, however, had buried his talent.

He returned exactly what he had been given.

Nothing was lost.

But nothing had been developed either.

The master commended the first two servants for their faithfulness. The third servant was confronted about his failure to act on what had been entrusted to him.

I find this parable especially interesting because the issue was not that everyone had received the same resources and one person had accomplished less.

They had received different amounts.

And the two faithful servants received the same commendation despite producing different quantities.

The issue was faithfulness with what each person had been given.

God does not call us to compete with someone else's gifts, opportunities, or capacity.

But we are responsible for how we steward what He has entrusted to us.

Love Does Not Eliminate Expectations

Let me return to my daughter.

Did I love her any less because she skipped those stations?

Of course not.

Was I going to stop being her mother because she underperformed during practice?

Absolutely not.

But did I want her to do better?

Yes!

Because I knew she could.

I wanted her to understand that her ability came with an opportunity to develop it.

I wanted her to experience the satisfaction of discovering what consistent effort could produce.

And I wanted her to understand that avoiding difficult exercises might feel easier in the moment but could eventually prevent her from achieving the very things she desired.

This is where I believe we sometimes misunderstand God's love.

We rightly celebrate the truth that His love is not earned through our performance.

But sometimes we behave as though unconditional love means our choices have no consequences for our growth.

They do.

God's love remains, but we can still neglect opportunities, resist His instructions, and fail to develop what He has entrusted to us.

His love is not in question.

Our stewardship is.

Stir Up What Is Within You

Paul's instruction to Timothy captures this beautifully:

"Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you..." — 2 Timothy 1:6

Think about that.

Timothy had already received the gift.

Paul was not telling him to earn it.

He was telling him to stir it up.

To cultivate it.

To put it to use.

To refuse to allow what God had given him to remain dormant.

And that is where discipline becomes essential.

A gift may be freely given, but developing the ability to use it faithfully often requires intentional effort.

A calling does not eliminate preparation.

Grace does not eliminate practice.

And potential does not eliminate the need for discipline.

Sometimes the most important thing we can do with what God has given us is to stop waiting for ideal conditions and begin faithfully developing it.

The Treasure Requires Stewardship

Think about the things God has placed within your care.

Perhaps you have a gift for teaching but rarely make time to study.

Perhaps you have the ability to encourage others but continually allow fear to keep you silent.

Perhaps you have been entrusted with leadership but resist the discipline required to develop wisdom and character.

Perhaps you have a vision for your family, ministry, career, or community but consistently postpone the work required to pursue it.

Or perhaps the treasure God has entrusted to you includes your own body.

Your health.

Your mind.

Your relationships.

Your capacity to serve.

We often think of stewardship in terms of money, but stewardship extends to every resource God has placed in our care.

And this is where discipline and wholeness intersect.

What If Your Body Is Part of the Assignment?

As a physician, I frequently encounter people who genuinely want better health but struggle to develop the habits that support it.

Sometimes the obstacles are significant. Illness, disability, trauma, financial constraints, and demanding responsibilities can all affect what is possible in a particular season.

Faithful stewardship does not mean ignoring those realities or measuring ourselves against someone else's abilities.

It means asking what responsible care looks like with the capacity and resources available to us.

Perhaps it means gradually building physical strength.

Improving our sleep.

Developing healthier eating habits.

Seeking medical care.

Learning to manage stress.

Or finally giving ourselves permission to rest.

The point is not to achieve a particular appearance or level of physical performance.

It is to care faithfully for what God has entrusted to us.

Discipline helps us turn what is available into what is developed.

And development often happens through small, repeated acts of faithfulness rather than dramatic moments of achievement.

Don't Confuse Being Loved With Being Finished

There is something else I want us to recognize.

God's acceptance of us in Christ does not mean He is done working in us.

We are loved while we are growing.

Accepted while we are learning.

Secure in Him while our character is still being developed.

And because we are secure, we can receive correction without allowing it to destroy our sense of worth.

We can acknowledge that we have underperformed without concluding that we are failures.

We can recognize that we have neglected a gift without believing that God has abandoned us.

We can admit that we need greater discipline without returning to performance-based Christianity.

In fact, knowing that we are loved should give us the security to confront the areas where we need to grow.

My daughter could have an honest conversation with me about her behavior because our relationship was not hanging in the balance.

And our relationship with God should give us the same freedom.

We can come to Him honestly and ask:

"Father, what have You entrusted to me that I have neglected?"

"Where have I been avoiding the work of growth?"

"Where do I need to become more intentional?"

Give God Your Faithfulness

I wonder how many of us have gifts that remain underdeveloped because we have repeatedly skipped the stations.

Not because we lack potential.

But because we have resisted the process that develops it.

Perhaps we have mistaken preparation for inconvenience.

Perhaps we have allowed fear, comparison, distraction, or comfort to keep us from doing what is necessary.

Whatever the reason, there is grace to begin again.

You do not have to develop everything overnight.

You do not have to accomplish what someone else has accomplished.

And you certainly do not need to exhaust yourself trying to prove your worth to God.

But you can be faithful with what He has given you.

Take the next step.

Develop the next skill.

Practice the next act of obedience.

Cultivate what He has entrusted to your care.

My daughter was not expected to become an elite gymnast in one afternoon.

She was expected to work through her stations faithfully.

And perhaps that is a lesson for us all.

God has already given you His love. Now give Him your faithfulness.

Do not bury what He has placed in you.

I love you,

Oyin.