Are you plagued by limitations? In reality, mankind is bound by numerous
limitations. But there is a worldly philosophy that declares if a person
puts his or her mind to do something they can accomplish anything. To
a point this is true but at the core is the idea that a person can become
God in his or her world and change circumstances. Can you recognize
this philosophy to be nothing more then the lie that Eve accepted as
truth in the Garden of Eden?
Limitations are a hard fact of reality. They prove one major truth,
that man is not God and he cannot change circumstances in his own power.
In other words limitations are a reality check.
Limitations can also become a tremendous
hindrance and obstacle in ministry.
In fact, servants of God may even feel that God is against them instead
of being for them. After all, they are committed to serving God only
to be met with incredible resistance. This frequently causes ministers
to question their calling and the love and existence of God.
Over the years GSM has encountered many limitations. These limitations
have come in the form of health problems, financial challenges and sparse
resources. They have put us in hard, unbearable places, challenged our
faith, made us occasionally question God’s commitment and brought
us face-to-face with tribulation, persecution and depression.
We have struggled with the same limitations for over ten years. We
have wanted to do great things for His kingdom and yet at certain times
we have been powerless to do anything. We have wrestled before God about
these limitations, always holding up grand plans to make a difference
in the world, only to be met with silence.
Within the past couple of years I have come to understand the significance
of our limitations and made peace with them. In fact, each limitation
has brought forth greater faith, appreciation and spiritual growth in
my life.
I began to appreciate limitations when I studied the lives of God’s
servants in scripture. These hindrances served as boundaries and protection
for His ministers causing them to become reliant on Him. For example,
the Apostle Paul had a thorn in his side that limited him. Paul admitted
that the thorn kept him from being puffed up and caused him to trust
God with the situation (2 Corinthians 12:6-11).
The Apostle Paul’s own situation revealed that
without limitations God's people can find themselves in sin.
In my case, I know that my hindrances have caused me to learn to trust
God instead of my own understanding. They have kept me from getting
ahead of Him and making assumptions, which cause me to do things that
are amiss and not according to His will.
Finances have been the greatest source of hindrance for us because
we have many projects that are presently hidden away. But God has used
this limitation to show me what is important. For instance, it is not
what I do for God that counts, but rather it is who I am.
This truth can be seen in the life of King David. Saul drove David
out of his own country. He lived in caves, was at the mercy of others
and struggled in the wilderness. But through it all God established
character in this man who would one day be king.
It is character that really enriches
a person's life and brings credibility.
However, people are not born with character; it must be developed through
struggles that require endurance that produces trust in God. (See Galatians
6:7-9).
God has also put boundaries on our finances to insure good stewardship
and the right timing. Looking back over the years I realize that if
I had possessed excess money, I could have hindered God’s kingdom
more than furthered it. For example, I would have given to the wrong
people and causes.
One of the problems in America is that we think money is the ultimate
solution to all our hindrances. In reality, God is the solution. Money
has become a sick substitute that keeps us from looking to and relying
upon God for provision. I have learned if God is in something, it will
come forth according to His will and timing.
One vital lesson we have learned is that what we think we need and
what we really need are two different things. I have learned I don’t
need 65% of the things I thought I did.
Another lesson I learned concerning finances has to do with multiplication.
We always look at what we don’t have and how God could provide
it instead of considering what we have at our disposal that He can multiply.
It is true God can create anything from nothing but many fail to realize
He wants to use what is available such as the five barley loaves and
two small fish in John 6.
The lessons of multiplication are that of faithfulness and good stewardship,
not just in finances, but in every area of our lives as well as miraculous
intervention. God is faithful in every area of our lives to use what
is available and we must do the same. The real test of a servant is
how faithful he or she is with, not only the big things, but also the
small things that can be easily overlooked because of some grandiose
vision about God or ministry (Luke 16:12).
It is easy for people to waste
their time, money and resources.
God will not waste anything! He is a good steward. We often overlook
what is available, fail to properly use what we do have and dreamily
wait for the right things to happen before we decide to act, instead
of acting upon what we already have. Tragically, we waste our lives.
Finally, God uses multiplication to show the miraculous. In other words,
He uses the ordinary to show Himself to be extraordinary. God works
in practical ways and shows us we must do the same. God did not move
the Red Sea out of the way or cause the children of Israel to walk on
the water. He simply parted it. This demonstrated God’s practicality
in how He works in the midst of His people. He does not over-awe people
with great miracles as many in the Christian realm are trying to do
through revelations, prophecies and signs and wonders. This overlooked
practicality makes God reachable, understandable and real as well as
glorifies Him.
Today some Christians appear to be floating around in some kind of
spirituality that is not only unrealistic but morbid. Instead of bringing
glory to God they bring a reproach to the Gospel. Instead of making
Christianity reachable, they become a source of mockery. Instead of
glorifying God through practical works they unfairly present all Christians
as fruits, nuts and flakes.
My final lesson about limitations concluded with Jesus’ example.
How many of you realize that when Jesus took on the form of a servant
and became a man that He became limited? The question is what can each
of us learn from Jesus’ limitations?
There are two major lessons found in Jesus’ limitations: that
of discipline and obedience. Limitations are powerful sources of learning
discipline. Many shun discipline unless it is on their terms, but limitations
have a way of wearing down the will, self-sufficiency and energy. They
bring a person to an important crossroad that leads in three different
directions.
The first two paths of this crossroad eventually intertwine but they
begin differently. The first path is that of disillusionment; am I going
to become full of self-pity, disbelief and bitterness because I can’t
have my way? Or, will I choose the second path where I develop a morbid,
self-righteous facade that makes me out to be a suffering, noble saint
that has graciously sacrificed all in spite of the fact that God has
not moved on my behalf?
Hopefully each person who encounters this crossroad will choose the
third path. This path requires a person ceases from struggling to get
the arm of God to move and seeks out His will and, upon discovering
it, gives way to it.
As the Son of Man Jesus’ priority was doing the will of His Father.
He was obedient in every area of His humanity and ultimately became
subject to the sufferings and death of the cross. In fact Hebrews 5:8
states, "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the
things which he suffered."
Suffering, whether through illnesses or devastating circumstances,
can be labeled as sin instead of recognizing it as a process. This process
not only works character into a person but also results in the obedience
that possesses an eternal purpose. After all, man is so bound by earth
it is hard for him to realize there is an eternal perspective beyond
his finite world.
Godly suffering that results in obedience to God
will give a person an eternal perspective.
We see this in the life of Job. He did not suffer because of sin but
because his soul became a battleground between God and Satan. In his
suffering he struggled with his concept of God. He could not understand
what was happening, but he clung to the hope that allowed him to trust
the character of his silent God instead of defining Him in light of
the circumstances (Job 19:25-27). At the end of his suffering, his understanding
of God graduated from a belief or concept to the reality that He is
a Person. This is what Job said in Job 42:5, "I have heard of thee
by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee."
In my ten years of full-time ministry I have learned that the most
important priority in my life is not ministry or accomplishments but
my relationship with Jesus. My Christian life is not a matter of being
right about doctrines, callings or visions, but being right before God.
My hope does not rest on doing things for the kingdom of God so I can
stand proud, but rather it rests in Christ accomplishing great things
in and through my life so He will be glorified and receive all the honor.
If you are frustrated by limitations today, instead of becoming discouraged
thank God. By faith know that God is in control and working all things
out for your benefit and His glory. Also keep in mind that He is doing
something of eternal value in your life and that if you learn the lesson
and give way to Him, you will never be ashamed.
We want to thank you for your friendship and support. You need to know
that you have served as an avenue where God has provided, multiplied
and done the miraculous, not only in our lives but also in the lives
of those whom we serve. God bless your faithfulness!!!
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