DON'T LIMIT GOD!
"Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel." - Psalms 78:41 (KJV)
Time without numbers, we all have been guilty of limiting God. We find ourselves most times belittling Him! This is basically as a result of our ignorance of Who He is and of His ability and readiness to meet with us, not only to the points of our need, but far much more. The Book of Ephesians 3:20 echoes it thus:
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,".
I'm thrilled by the choice of words in this Scripture by the Holy Spirit, to show God's goodness towards His children. The phrase "exceeding abundantly above all,” have each word therein packed with infinite love and power to “do” things for us. Praise the Lord! This speaks of God's desire and ability to meet with our needs far beyond our wildest imagination. But that's not all!
The phrase “according to the power that worketh in us.” depicts that God will do just as much for us as we let Him do. This is where limiting God comes about. If God is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us," the crucial question to ask is, to what extent is God's power at work in you? This power of God at work in us includes not only the power of His Spirit at work in us, but also other graces of God. For instance, this has to do with our level of faith in God, our patience, love, joy, peace, temperance and what have you!
According to God's Word, "if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ ... For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." - 2 Peter 1:8-11.
All of these and many other Christian virtues are summarized into the phrase "power at work in us". We all know that one thing is to possess a Christian virtue and another thing is whether or not that virtue is at work in us. As God's children, despite that we are well loaded, not all experience God's reality in our lives. We need to put to work what we have received in Christ so that we can experience the reality of our inheritance in Christ Jesus. To achieve this, we need to embark on a continued build up and working of God's power in us to enable us to receive from Him "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,". This is very vital!
Anything short of this will serve to limit God and not produce the enabling premise on which to receive from Him abundantly. While God is willing and able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think" we may fall short of His power at work for us.
Yes, we can limit God. Jesus was faced with this in Nazareth, His own hometown.
The Bible says that He could there do no mighty work because of their unbelief (Mk 6:5,6).
It's not that Jesus didn't want to; indeed, He tried to, but He couldn't do any mighty work because of their unbelief. By their unbelief, they limited Him.
Let's learn to "Have in God" (Mk 11:22). Be bold to ask Him "big" for your needs. Stop limiting Him. Your God owns everything and in limitless quantity. Jesus said "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." (Jn 16:23,24). From now on, ask with knowledge of His willingness and ability "to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,". Shalom!
PRAYER:
Dearest Heavenly Father, henceforth, I cease from limiting You. Thank You for the latitude to ask and the receive from You exceedingly abundantly above all that I ask or think, in Jesus name.