Limitations

Limitation: A limiting condition; restrictive weakness; lack of capacity; inability or handicap. For the most part, we humans would prefer to ignore and hide our limitations. We want to appear strong, confidant, willing and able to do anything.

I don’t like feeling limited. I don’t like asking for help. Whether it’s asking for a wheel chair to get to the other side of a church campus or asking someone to fix me a plate at the potluck line, I really don’t like being limited. It stinks. Yet, God is teaching me to be patient with myself as I accept my limitations. I’m able to say what I can currently do and what I can’t do, with the eye of being willing to learn what I can. 

We all have limitations in our lives. Physical limitations. Time limitations. Financial limitations. Relational limitations. Fixing-stuff limitations.The list goes on. Whether it’s a temporary physical limitation or just something that is out of our “comfort zone”, we struggle to know how to deal in a healthy way with our limitations.

What are your limitations? Identify them and recognize them as such. It’s OK. Acknowledge that these limitations can be painful and hard to accept. Be determined to grow in some of your limitations. Ask God for strength when you feel limited and ineffective. Find others who have the skills you lack. It’s OK to ask for help. We sometimes think we can and should do it all. That’s not how God wired us. He wired us to work and serve together! It’s time to admit that we need help. 

The Bible is filled with examples of people that had limitations, yet God used them greatly. Jeremiah felt like he was just a child. Paul had a thorn in the flesh and admitted he was weak. Gideon felt limited by having only 300 men. Moses complained about not being able to speak well. What about you? Even in your limitations, God can be your strength. You only need ask.

“By acknowledging our boundaries and limitations, we attain greater heights than we ever will by appearing to think we know everything.” Graham Speechley

“I thank God for my handicaps, for through them, I have found myself, my work and my God.” Helen Keller

“…For Christ’s sake, we should delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.