Volume 52 Number 6 June 2010
While none of us are strong enough to really limit God’s overall power in any way, we can definitely put boundaries on what He would like to do in our own individual lives, usually by our own unbelief. The way we limit God in our lives is directly connected to our view of Him. Change your view of God, and you will no longer limit what He can do in and through your precious life!
“Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29). Jesus told us that a major source of religious error, along with not knowing the Scriptures, is to be ignorant of the power of God! When your God is too small, there is no telling how far you can drift from the Almighty God! The Creator of the universe Who made all that we see around us has more than enough power to perform what He promises and to make us what we ought to be!
Let us learn from the children of Israel who are described this way in Psalms 78:40-42,
“How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy ...”. This whole Psalm is about the history of Israel, and how God’s people need to listen so they won’t be like their stubborn forefathers. Note verses 7,8: “That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments; and may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.” Limiting God’s power is a fatal error that will hurt us now and for eternity!Here are three areas of our lives in which we can limit God’s power. Consider them carefully and in so doing we will be able to allow God’s power to operate more powerfully in our lives, to His glory!
Hear the grateful singer in Psalms 103:8-14:
“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” Do you remember when Jesus forgave men who were physically and mentally hurting Him - right there on the spot? (Luke 23:34). Have you ever really done anything this awful to Jesus? Until we accept God’s forgiveness, we have created a huge obstacle in our hearts to the power of God!Many areas of life can be overlooked as being unimportant to God, when in reality they are of great concern to our Father in Heaven. Marriage, for example, must be treated with the highest regard as something God is very much concerned with. Genesis 24 is a whole chapter on how the Lord took care of a wife for Isaac when prayers were made on his behalf. Many couples can attest to how the Lord helped them in this, one of life’s greatest decisions. Do not limit God’s power in providing a godly mate, for marriage matters to the One Who is love!
We see some religious people who indeed abuse the power of God and try to claim things that God has not given us. But we react the wrong way when we won’t take the gifts that God has given us. When someone claims to have miraculous gifts or apostolic powers and authority, don’t overreact by going to the other extreme and saying God will not work in our lives today!
God’s mighty power is much like electricity. Will you be a ‘path of least resistance’ for His power, or a ‘resistor’ that just causes friction? What will your choice be today, friend? Will you believe that with God, all things are possible? Or will you believe that with God, all things are … hmm, I don’t know?