I’ve come to the conclusion I can’t do what I once did. Though I’m considered to be only in mid-life, I’ve noticed my limitations seem to grow daily. I could once toss a 50 pound sack of feed over my shoulder and walk proudly to the checkout counter and then to my truck. If I do that now, my back will ache for three days. Hiking up and over mountains while carrying a backpack was once a relatively minor task. I haven’t tried this in 12 years, but I’m relatively sure I couldn’t do it at present. And if I wake up and make it through the day pain free it gives me reason to celebrate.
Limitations are parcel to life. It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them. (Proverbs 25:2 NLT)
Limitations do what the word implies—limit. Just as the speed limit legally limits a person from going beyond the stated kilometer or miles per hour, so a limitation—physical, emotional, or spiritual, keeps me from moving beyond a certain point. But limitations aren’t necessarily preventions. I still have the ability to drive faster than the speed limit.
Limitations also give me the opportunity to grow in other directions. I find myself using unexplored avenues or approaches because my limitations prevent me from doing it the way I always have.
Rather than whining about my limitations, I’m learning to use them to my advantage rather than disadvantage. I can whine about the limitations of aging, or I can use my life examples to teach high schoolers some important lessons.
Limitations can either strengthen my faith in and dependency on God or they can weaken my work for him. I think I’ll choose the former and press on to the end of the race. What direction are your limitations taking you in?
Prayer: Faithful Lord, enable us to see our limitations as opportunities to do even greater things for You.
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