limitations are good

“For He knows our frame; He remembers we are dust...”
(Psalm 103:14)
When God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden, He displayed to them all the blessings of His creation they had surrounding them in the garden and then proceeded to give them ONE commandment: “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, BUT of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall NOT eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).

To think of the hundreds, if not thousands of trees that existed in the garden, you would gather that the one limitation they were commanded to have wouldn’t be that tempting. But we know what the crafty and shrewd serpent does in the account of what we know to be “the Fall.” (Genesis 3). Satan deceives them into thinking that the limitation God set in keeping away from that one tree was evil. He made them question God’s motive and made them believe their own understanding.

Little did they know (because of their limitation) that God’s intent in setting that limitation was His wisdom in action and not being evil to keep them bound. It was actually to keep them free. Free from death. Free from the power of sin. Free from knowing what they didn’t have to know.

The world will tell you that limitations are weakness. It will tell you that you are limitless. While the capabilities that God has given mankind are incredible (and all we have to do is look at what we humans have created, invented and accomplished to see that), the actual thought that we are limitless is a path that can lead us away from an All-knowing, Sovereign God who created us with limitations. But in the same way Adam and Eve leaned on their own understanding of limitations, it will lead us down the same path. It will make us think that God’s wisdom in creating us isn’t sufficient. He must be holding out on us. So I must do more. I must be more. I must know more. 

We don’t have to look far to see our limitations. We sin. We get sick. We have pain. We get fatigued. We see death. We experience suffering. All of these remind us just how limited we are. And by our own understanding, we would think that these limitations are to mark us as simply weak creatures, but in reality, as Christians, these weaknesses and limitations move us forward to that glorious day, when our faith is made sight and every tear is wiped from our eyes and we are with our Savior forever.

What God displayed on the cross through Jesus shows us that it took One who had to be perfect (Hebrews 7:28) to pay the price of what our sin would have caused us to bear. We weren’t capable of doing that perfect work and praise God. Because One did and hope in HIM gives us the strength to live out our weaknesses, and not in vain, but in great purposes used for God’s glory.

In God’s wisdom, we find that our limitations do a great work in us:

They humble us. They remind us we aren’t God. We don’t have every gift. We aren’t perfect. And we weren’t created to be. (Psalm 103:14)

They sanctify us. They push us toward looking like Christ as we continue to repent and walk in obedience. (1 Peter 1:2)

They fortify us. They keep us holding on to the One who is strength. And when we are in Him, we are strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

They keep us. God’s wisdom is beyond ours. And His wisdom is rooted in love. His ways and thoughts are not ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). And to endure this faith walk, we must rest in that for we never know what He is keeping us from.

And most importantly, they exalt Him. We are created to give Him glory. He is the Creator. He is King. He is All knowing. He is Sovereign. He is God and there is none like Him (Isaiah 45:5).

In world that screams, “Be more. Do more. Know more,” let’s not get sucked into a mantra that we weren’t met to live out. Don’t let the enemy deceived you.

Rather, beloved, embrace your limitations. For the ONE who is unlimited in ALL ways has embraced you and called you to something bigger than what being limitless could ever achieve. He’s called you to be His—weaknesses and all.
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The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 

Passages to read/memorize/meditate:
Genesis 2-3 (both chapters)
Isaiah 45:5
Isaiah 55:8-9
Psalm 103:14
1 Corinthians 1:27
2 Corinthians 12:10
1 Peter 1:2Questions to Reflect on:

1. How have you leaned on your understanding on something concerning your life rather than leaning on God’s wisdom?
2. Have you found yourself being frustrated by your own limitations? Why? Where do you think that comes from?
3. How does this devotional help you see your limitations as God’s good plan?
4. How does this devotional help you trust God's wisdom?