The Gift of Limitations

Limitations can be blessings if we let them. Have you ever thought of how most songs, even something as complicated as a piece in a symphony, is technically comprised of only 7 different notes of a single scale? The art of painting is even more limited. All the colors used come from a mere 3 primary colors. Drawing is mostly made up of 3 shapes: circles, triangles, and rectangles. All the beauty of nature cycles through 4 seasons, year after year after year. Whole worlds are created from these limited means.

When God gives us limits it often feels like He’s keeping something good from us. For me, my energy on every level has been altered since going through almost losing my husband, and all it took to care for him and our family during that time. It hasn’t FELT like a blessing to be able to do less, handle less, or need more time to do normal things. But God is consistent. He has revealed these patterns of good from limitations throughout life and creation. His goal is to prepare us for eternity, for some beautiful and incredible purpose He has planned before the foundation of the world. He knows what He’s doing. Even when it looks like a loss to us, He works all things for good.

Take music for example: playing a piece in a key with the mere 7 notes may look like a needless limit at first glance. But if you play notes outside of the “limit” of the key it will sound terrible. It is anything but beautiful. It often takes God giving us defined limits so we can see the things that are in disharmony with the purpose He has for us. Accepting the limits He gives isn’t for our detriment, but to give us more freedom, more beauty, and more creativity. The idiom “less is more” often holds true in our spiritual lives. We are finite creatures with limited resources. If we are playing a bunch of notes outside of our key it’s not going to be conducive to the beauty God intends to create from our lives, a beauty that reflects Himself to the world. The limits He gives often reveal that we may be doing things He never intended for us to do, and show us what is truly most important.

The discomfort that often comes with accepting limitations isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it may mean we’re growing. Just like muscles get sore from working out, or kids have growing pains, sometimes pain means we’re on the right track and moving towards what God desires for us. Sometimes it means we need to slow down to heal. Maybe your limit showed up like grief, like an unexpected circumstance, trauma, a new child (or twins like me!) getting something you never wanted or not having something you desperately desire. It may not FEEL good, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t FOR our good. I have to tell myself this daily! We may be in a season of Winter, and it certainly is a limited season. But we know God makes life from death. Each season has its limits for good purposes. We cannot remain in Summer always. If you find you can’t run anymore, perhaps God wants you to walk slowly so you don’t miss something incredible He wants to show you. He knows what is best for us.

One thing that has helped me accept God’s limits on my life is prayer I borrowed from Elisabeth Elliot: God, I want your will for my life, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else. After all, He has our ultimate good in mind, and desires to make something beautiful in our lives - Christlikeness.