Limitations Are A Gift From God… Hello Hump Day readers. I’m sure you are wondering about this topic and why on earth does God give us limitations? Well, I just finished a book about limitations, ‘The Gift Of Limitations’ by Sara Hagerty and I admit my perspective was swirling like a bobble-head doll. I felt that this book was meant for me—maybe you too? I hope you enjoy this devotion about limitations because there is more there that meets the eye!

How often do we feel stretched to our limits and wish those limits weren’t there at all? How many of us don’t like limitations at all? After reading Hagerty’s book, I just couldn’t get out of my mind with this question she proposed: “What if your limitations were, in fact, your greatest gift?” Gulp! But that’s not all—she then asks: “So, what if your greatest weaknesses—the areas of your life you resent the most, the places where you feel the most overextended and unfulfilled—are your doorway to a rich intimacy with God?” Let that sink in a bit. Does it bother you or, like me, I decided to delve into this “limitations thing” because I felt God was pushing me to do so. And you know what, I’m glad I did. I’m glad I read the book and I am delighted to share a few prospectives on limitations.

Now mind you—me, yes this is a gal who raced cars, snowmobiles, pushed the boundaries on down-hill skiing and then decided to be a pastor/chaplain—yikes. I wanted NO limitations until I had no choice…and that is where God and I had a lot of conversations and I admit it, for the first time I listened!

When life topples on us like a blizzard we shout out “this is too much!” And we often feel deprived and worse, limited. Yet we continue daily with the slog we’ve created and go to bed exhausted and too tired to even pray! Friends, this is not what God wants for us. Below I am sharing a “test for yourself” with permission from Hagerty’s book. Here’s her bullet points”

  • Name the limitations that haunt us and how we have unknowingly given them power
  • Open our eyes to what God can do with the weaknesses we resent
  • Discover what God’s Word says about living within our limitations
  • Understand what embracing our limits looks like in everyday life
  • Recognize when we are pushing ourselves too far
  • Understand how God sees weakness and how God has used it in the lives of believers
  • Dream again while remaining tethered to God’s best story for us
  • Release the shame and frustration of our weaknesses

Scripture has a lot to say about limitations. Hebrews 4:15-16 from the Message translation: “Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.”

That last sentence nails it. So why are we hesitating to take the mercy and accept the help? Because we don’t like limitations and we want to do it “my way.” So, how is that working out for us? It doesn’t. We want power over our life, we don’t want people to see our weaknesses and we won’t admit that we push ourselves too far. Yet God is telling us that our very limitations often unlock our usefulness for God’s glory. God uses our trials, disappointments, and even our sufferings to make us productive in God’s kingdom. So while the world sees broken, distressed, and hurting people as inconsequential, God takes us—people who are weak—in order to strengthen us by God’s power, wisdom and grace.

In closing, I urge you to right down Hagerty’s bullet points and tape it on to your bathroom mirror. Let it sink into you each day as you read it. Share it with others and share it with your children who live in a world of denigrating one another instead of uplifting one another. In our limitations, God gives us exactly what we need in order to make us more like God and prepare us for glory. And remember, God uses our limitation to bless us—really! AMEN.