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As people, we easily limit God by our sinful actions, caused by the many unfulfilled vows that we make daily to God (Ecclesiastes 5:4-6).
How Can We Limit God?
So don’t tie god’s hand when he wants to bless you. How can this happen? Through an unfulfilled condition or a vow.
Condition: What I mean is we give God a condition or our terms that we believe he must first meet before we can serve him. We expect him to meet these terms, but we don’t want to do anything for him, however little it is. So, we want to boss God around.
Unfulfilled vow: According to Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 when we are in dear need, we approach God with our proposition saying ” if God you can do for us this we will do this in return “. Just like Jacob, he offered to pay a tithe of everything if God blessed him (Genesis 28:20-22).
Just imagine Jacob never kept the end of his bargain like most of us, what would God do? Do you think he would punish him, surely because God can’t lie (Numbers 23:19 )? Here is an open cheque or invitation from God to you, take it or leave it. It’s found in Isaiah 1:18-19 you must be obedient to God and what he can do, otherwise you will limit him.
According to Exodus 23:29-31 before you receive from God there is going to be some steps, action plans to be done otherwise you miss the miracle, or you limit God. God is careful not to give you the whole plan otherwise it will be too much for you or you will get scared and give up.
For instance, when God promised the children of Israel to take them to Canaan land, he didn’t tell them of the red sea issue, the desert problems that is the snakes, water shortage, etc otherwise they would have given up before they embark on the journey.
Even worse he didn’t give David any idea that it was not just taking food to his brothers at war but also there was a giant to kill. Maybe David would have feared and refused to take the journey and as a result, we would not have a king and we would not have the longest book of psalms, Solomon, and other parts of the bible which mention David as a hero and as a father of Solomon who was a result of this journey. One thing led to the other.
Remember according to Exodus 23:32 before you turn to God for help you are surrounded by difficult situations, problems, etc. But don’t give up or compromise. Now when you turn to God it’s expected that you offer yourself completely to him and his teachings.
God will ask you to do certain things and even to go to a certain place just like Abram was asked to offer his son, to go away to a place God would show him. This situation might not be comfortable in the beginning but if you obey you are rewarded along the way.
If you disobey it in turn limit God, just like King Saul did, but there was a price to pay (1 Samuel 15:20-29). God doesn’t punish only the secular world but even his most holy if they stop obeying him, like Moses who did not reach Canaan land. King David couldn’t build the temple etc
Even with obedience, God won’t give you beyond your capacity. God won’t give you what will destroy you because you lack the tools either the anointing, auction, etc. According to 1 Samuel 13:1-14 You will hear many people when caught in a tight situation say what could I do? After all, God helps those who help themselves. By now most of them are knee dip in sin, one way or the other.
Before you do anything always remember that there is ONLY one God and that is not you, so stop playing God when you feel like it. This will limit God in the end. Learn to know who you are and what is required of you. Don’t be what you are NOT because it will cost you a lot or even your life, for overstepping your bounds. For instance, in 2 Samuel 6:6-8 Uzzah died trying to be who he wasn’t and that is a priest. Don’t confuse God’s mercy for weakness.
Sometimes serving God is not a bed of roses (2 Timothy 3:12); and it’s possible for you to lose everything due to following Christ (Mark 10:29-31). But still, you got to put God first and love him no matter what (Mark 12:30-31). If you didn’t get any miracles, would you still love God?
Most of us do things for God due to what we will get from it, the titles, the popularity, etc if these things are lacking most of us will be missing from certain activities of God as a result we limit God. If you are willing and obedient to God, then the whole world is yours.
Show me any person who was great in the bible who did not go through a rough patch in life to get to his greatness. They did not limit God through their unbelief. For instance, Jesus prayed for the cup to pass(Matthew 26:39); Paul who wrote ¾ of the New Testament was whipped 2 Corinthians 11:25, and had a thorn 2 Corinthians 12:6-7.
Just imagine your 5-year-old telling you that it’s time you gave him his inheritance because he wants to go and start a family of his own. Will you give him? Yes, or no? A good parent will refuse and instead rebuke this kid for such a thought after all the parent knows what is best for this kid. So is the case with us and God, God says I have better plans than ours, but we still challenge Him about it. We tend to get on the ways of God blessing us, through fear although we know that inside us resides a bigger God than that situation or problem (1 John 4:4).
No matter your loss, always remember that God has a bigger and a better replacement in his store, and all he says is we should come and take. So don’t limit God through your unbelief.
Pastor Nathaniel.
