I bet you'd never thought about it in that way! I know I hadn't! But that's the thing... we disconnect things that shouldn't be disconnected.
How many times have you heard someone say "don't limit God", or "don't put God in a box", or "God is bigger than that"? Compared with how many times you've heard someone say that "if you limit yourself, you limit God"?
How does one limit God by limiting oneself? Well. If you say that you can't do "x" or "y" then you have removed the ability for God to do those very things through you, and you have thus put yourself and God into a very constricting box!
Whilst you really should know what you know and know what you don't know and generally stick with what you know. This shouldn't be a restriction. Wasn't it Paul who wrote "I can do ALL things through Christ"?
Ok, so me (I'll pick on me cause that is easiest), I know when my car sounds sick, and I know a few things that might cause the issue, but I'm no mechanic by a long shot! I know how to change a tire (I did 3 of them in one day on a car I used to own), I know how to check the water and oil, and I also know that if I have further issues, to please call an actual mechanic! I essentially know what I know as far as the car is concerned, and when I get out of my depth (knowing what I don't know), I call someone a little more knowledgeable! Ok, so I haven't needed to rely on God to help me with my car! Though, I'm sure He would if the need ever arose!
What I am trying to say, is that sometimes someone is hurting and you're all thats there in order for comfort. I'll pick on me again! I had a friend who had cancer. I could comfort and encourage her to a point. I've never experienced (and don't exactly wish to experience) the stresses, challenges, trials and exerything else that goes along with that. I know that there people more qualified than I was to bring comfort and encouragement, but occasionally, I was it! And I had to learn to rely on God in order to do it! There are other things I'm better at, but sometimes I need to be out of my depth, because I'm, somehow, the only one around or willing to try! When I am out of my depth, I do get a huge feeling of relief when someone more qualified/able steps up to take over or even fix up my feeble attempts!
Think about it this way. Person A has just buried their husband of 30 years, they are really grieving. I can say no, I've never experienced that, not going there, and thus limited my capacity to learn a new experience and limited my capacity to attempt to comfort a friend, or I can say, while I haven't had that experience, I will step up, I will rely on God, and I will supply my shoulder to cry on and my ear to hear them. It may not be as great as someone who knows from experience the pain amd loss, but I can at least offer my shoulder and a couple of boxes of tissues!
Do you get what I am trying to say? The minute I say I can't or wont do something is the minute I start limiting Gods ability to work His stuff through me!
So, other than limiting God, why is limiting myself so bad?
To be stretched like a rubber band is not such a bad thing, it causes growth! Yes, trust me, the process of stretching hurts, but its a good hurt. It's a hurt that has the potential for growth, understanding, experience and wisdom. But you have to let that happen, be willing. Or you could choose to get all bitter and twisted!
Limiting yourself reduces you ability to grow, learn, experience, feel and ultimately love.
In a perfect world, we would be willing and able to step up everytime something happened. But then, in a perfect world, pain wouldn't exist!
In a perfect world, you and I wouldn't have broken hearts and issues causing and caused by sin!
So, in this less than perfect world, we need to not limit outselves!
Haha! Easier said than done! I know this, because I still limit myself! I still limit God! Part of the reason for this is the fact that I am human! The rest (and I would think, a larger portion) is due to my sinful responses to things that happened around me and to me as a child! As a child I made some rather huge judgements, thus locked myself into the cycle of doubting my abilities AND doubting God.
So, how then do we stop limiting ourselves, and thus, limiting God? Firstly, we need to walk the road called repentance. We need to repent of our sinful responses to things that happend to us and around us. We need to forgive those who hurt us (no easy thing, yet it is a command of God, AND He will give us the ability to forgive, if we ask for His help). We need to learn who we actually are, not who we think we are or who others have told us who we are. What God says about us and what we think about us are often two completely different things! We need to walk lives lead by the Holy Spirit.
So why do we limit God? Because we don't trust Him. Why don't we trust God?
Our parents are first and foremost the ones who show us what God is like. So, again, picking on me. My father wasn't in my life (not going into the why), he simply wasn't there. Thus my perception from my lack of a father, was that Father God is distant and frankly doesn't give a damn about me. Then I had two step fathers, one was a drug addicted alcoholic with violent tendencies, so this told me that when God is present, He will be violent towards me. The second of the two step fathers was somewhat more subtle in his way of doing things. He liked to carve people up with his words. He essentially had venom dripping off his tongue. He was conniving, manipulative, and verbally abusive. So compound my three human representatives for God. Absent. Violent. Verbally demeaning, cruel and abusive. Not the best impression of God! Not the worst, but far from good!
Thus, by the actions of those around me, my basic trust that is supposed to be formed as a child, was at best shattered, and ant worst, missing in action. Thus, if I can not trust those who are supposed to protect me, how can I trust God? Therefore, because I don't/can't/won't trust God, I can not take Him at His word, therefore I limit Him.
How to get out of this mess? This mess that I had no control over? I need to forgive. The list is extensive, and I wont get into that here. I can tell you that because I have started to deal with my issues, I can sort of trust God a little bit. Not as much as He or I would like. But the process has been started! Forgiving is hard work.
The more I repent of my sinful reactions to what happened to me and around me, the more I am able to forgive those who hurt me, and then, the more I am able to trust God and take Him at His word, and the LESS I limit myself and Him. Again, all this is far, far easier said than done!
May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!
Australian Watcher On The Wall
http://australianwatcheronthewall.blogspot.com.au
