Limitations. It’s safe to say we all have them in some way, shape or form. Paul described his as a thorn in the flesh, which he asked God to remove three times but was told no. Maybe yours are circumstantial, maybe physical, but they all make us stumble or hold us back. Often we find ourselves wishing things were different or thinking things would be different if only we didn’t have to deal with this one thing.
This is another topic within the larger topic of suffering. I came across a book by Sara Haggerty entitled The Gift of Limitations,” and I am so enjoying the book. God used it to bring some healing and direction to my heart as we enjoyed some much-needed downtime during a recent camping trip.
As I read, I thought about God’s goodness, His sovereignty, trials, suffering, the difficult journey we have been on, and the limitations I experience in my own life. God helped me see that there is a beautiful tapestry unfolding before my eyes—a tapestry of tenderness, invitation, togetherness, care, and love.
We may have no control over the family we were born into, how our kids are growing and developing or the trouble they get into, our own physical health or the health of our loved ones, or the place and season God currently has us in, but we do have control over where we place our faith and to whom we run.
In His sovereignty, God has us where He needs us to reach the world for Him and grow and mature in our faith. We must see our limitations as a sacred invitation to do life with Him, to allow Him to walk with us and guide us.
Sara points out that growth with God is often slow and circular, not linear and upward as we often expect. Additionally, she says that what we often try to wriggle out from underneath can be the very thing God wants to walk through with us in fellowship. We must be seeking Him as we try to improve ourselves so we aren’t “disrupting the life God has placed us in.” (Sara Haggerty, The Gift of Limitations, 23)
Something else caught my attention, though. These limitations we have often feel like trials that make us die to ourselves, sometimes even daily, as we lay down what we want to do or wish we could do. Sometimes, they make us feel like we aren’t going to make it. But we need to consider what death really is. 2 Corinthians 4:11 in the ESV puts it this way:
“For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ”
As I contemplated that verse, I began to think that even Jesus had to die in surrender to God’s plan of redemption. Death brought forth life. These trials and limitations we face each day can prompt us to draw closer to our heavenly Father. Each time we die to ourselves, we yield more to His plan. We mature and become more like Jesus. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 sums it up nicely:
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to dispair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.”
What a beautiful passage to encourage us as we walk through life’s trials and struggle against the limitations that seemingly hold us back. Daily surrender to the Lord’s plan as we walk through our days will help us die to ourselves and stay on the path He lays before us, even if it looks totally different than what we expected in the season we find ourselves in.
Have you ever considered your limitations to be a sacred invitation? Leave your thoughts as a comment below!