Self-Imposed Limits
Breaking Free from Self-Imposed Limits: What God Can Really Do Through You
Have you ever looked at someone else's life and thought, "God could never use me like that"? I was talking with someone this week who made an honest confession that stopped me in my tracks. She said, "Well, with God, the sky's the limit." When I challenged her and asked if she really believed that, she replied, "You know, I really believe that for others, but not so much for me because I know who I am. I know my limitations. I know my weaknesses."
Her honesty was refreshing, but it revealed something profound about how we limit God in our lives. The truth is, most of us can cheer others on and declare God's limitless power for them, while secretly wondering if He could really do anything significant through us.
The Pattern of Looking Back
In Deuteronomy chapter 1, Moses recounts a familiar pattern among the Israelites. Despite witnessing incredible miracles - the parting of the Red Sea, the destruction of the Egyptian army, the pillar of fire by night and cloud by day - they had a troubling habit. "Yet you would not go up but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God, and you murmured in your tents and said, 'Because the Lord hated us, he brought us up out of the land of Egypt'" (Deuteronomy 1:26).
"It's an interesting story because it's a story that's played over and over and over again in the lives of the Israelites." Even when they reached the promised land, "they continually look back to Egypt. They continue to look back to Egypt to help them, to save them. And it's so odd for us because we look, and you're like, Egypt was a place of servanthood. Egypt was a place of slavery for you. And yet you look back at Egypt as something that's going to bring you peace, that's going to bring you joy, that's going to bring you wholeness."
We say we can't understand that, but if we're really honest with our own lives, we begin to realize we do understand it. "Because even though God had brought them out of Egypt, had brought them freedom from the slavery of Egypt, they would not let Egypt out of their heart."
Love as an Action Word
The key to breaking free from this pattern is found in Luke chapter 10, where Jesus gives us the foundation for transformation: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.” Luke 10:27
"You see, for the children of Israel, if they could have just loved the Lord their God with their heart, their soul, their mind, their strength, with everything in them, they would have never gone back to Egypt. They would have never longed for Egypt because they would realize their hearts, their desires, their will, their emotions, everything about them was about going towards Jesus, going towards God himself."
But here's what's crucial to understand: "The word love is an action word. It's not about emotion. Emotion will only get you so far." We have to be people who deal with emotion, but realize "I've got to be the same person. That is when that emotion dies, and I am still the same person. And when I don't have my feelers going, when I don't have the Holy Spirit goosebumps, that I still know that God is limitless."
God's Limitless Nature
After the Israelites complained about the bitter waters at Mara in Exodus chapter 15, God made them an incredible promise. He said, "If you will but obey my commands, none of the diseases of Egypt will become upon you." Then He revealed Himself in a powerful way: "For I am the Lord God, your healer. I am Jehovah Rapha."
But notice what God is really saying here. "He's not saying, 'Oh, you got the flu today. I'm Jehovah Rapha. I'm going to heal you.' He goes, 'I'm not even going to allow a disease to come upon you. I'm not going to allow limitations of your body, limitations of your mind, limitations of your soul, limitations of your strength. I'm not even going to allow them to come upon you. I'm going to heal them prior to them ever happening.'"
"God is limitless. And yet we continually put limits on God."
How Far Has God Brought You?
Let me ask you a personal question: "How far has God brought you?”
When I reflect on my own journey, I'm amazed. "My wife and I just celebrated 33 years. And for those of you who know my story, 33 years is longer than any of our parents, any of our grandparents have ever been married. I mean, it's record-setting, you know, for our family to have a first marriage last that long."
We grew up in a small town in Oregon, population 3,000, and yet I've done so many things I never even imagined, never even thought possible. But it was never because of me. It was because of God."
The Potential in This Room
Here's what I believe: "I wonder how many potential Elijahs we have in this house. I wonder how many potential Pauls we have in this house. I wonder how many potential Davids, Moseses, and Ruths. But the only reason they're not who they are is that they've limited God, not because God has limited them."
"What set Paul apart from anybody else was the fact that he listened to God. He was zealous for God. Even on the road to Damascus, even doing the wrong thing for God, he had a zeal for God." When God spoke to him and redirected his path, Paul was willing to follow completely.
Exceedingly Abundantly Above
The foundation for understanding God's limitless power in our lives is found in Ephesians 3:20: "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us."
"This should be our life statement right here. If we truly are going to get beyond the maze, if we truly are going to deny ourselves, if we're truly not going to be lukewarm, we go to this verse, and we say, 'Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all I've even asked.'"
God doesn't just want to meet our requests. Too often we don't ask for certain things, but we think them.' Because sometimes there are things that seem impossible. And I almost feel bad for asking God." But what God desires to do is abundantly more than I ask and actually more than I think to the point where my imagination goes. And yet I think God looks at our BIG DREAMS and thinks, ‘that's cute that you think that that's too hard for me, because what I desire to do is greater than your imagination, greater than you could dream.'
The Key to Breakthrough
Here's the crucial truth: "God empowers my life to the extent that I surrender and allow him to lead through me." This means "God empowers my life to the moment I limit him."
God is all-powerful. Yes, but he's made the sovereign decision not to trump your free will." So when we ask why God doesn't move in our lives, often, "it's because we’re limiting him.
"And so God is waiting for you to say, 'God, I remove all the restraints.'" The problem is, we get afraid and think that if we surrender completely, God will send us somewhere we don't want to go. "But that's not the story. The story is: do I trust God, or do I not trust God? Do I trust the God who created me, who formed me, who knew me in my mother's womb and knew the best plans for me?"
What Are You Capable Of?
"Church, what are you capable of? You are capable of doing greater than you can even imagine." The limitation isn't your age, education, background, or past mistakes. It's not anything about you. Absolutely has nothing to do with you. It all has to do with him.
There are people in here right now who have the gift of prophecy that God desires to move through you. There are people here who I believe have the gift of healing. There are gifts of knowledge and wisdom. There are things that God desires to do in and through you. If you will just open yourself up.
Putting It Into Practice
The path forward is both simple and challenging. It's "simply going, 'God, use me.' And what you say, I'm going to do. The hard part is actually doing it."
Here are practical steps to remove the limits you've placed on God:
Stop Questioning God's Voice. Most of us hear from God. But we question God. When God gives you a word of encouragement for someone or prompts you to act, don't spend time questioning whether it's really Him. "If God's given you a word for someone, he wants you to walk up to’ them and share it.
Embrace Your Inexperience “' Well, God, I've never done that before.' That's the perfect time to do it." God can use us the greatest "when I don't know how to do it" because then it's clearly His power, not our ability.
Remove Self-Imposed Shackles. "He's not wrapped you up. You're not tied up. You're not shackled up by God. You shackled yourself up." The breakthrough comes when we say, "God, I release you to do whatever it is you want to do in my life."
Trust God's Character. Those words might seem scary, "but they're only scary if you don't trust God. Because if I trust God and he's a good, good father and he's one that loves me beyond all imagination that formed me that knew me, if I really trust God, I'm not scared of what he's going to ask."
The question isn't what God is capable of - He's limitless. The real question is: "What are you willing to allow God to do through your life?" Your answer to that question will determine the extent of God's power flowing through you.
It's time to stop limiting the limitless God and start living in the reality that He can do "exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us" (Ephesians 3:20).