July 31, 2017 KNOWING OUR LIMITS
Psalm 131:1 “O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; nor do I involve myself in great matters, or things too difficult for me.”
This is a liberating verse. Many spend a lot of time worrying or fretting over things over which they have no control. There are many things in the universe and the world around us that we simply cannot understand or explain. It is the pride of man that is behind the desire to control and to have the knowledge to explain everything. The opposite of pride is humility; and part of humility is recognizing our limitations. We experience a certain freedom when we accept and acknowledge the fact that there are things that are too great or too difficult for us. I am reminded of a true story where a man, for whatever the reason, felt that he was ‘supposed’ to be a pastor, however, as he went about pastoring, he was not content and what he did was a struggle and laborious. When someone he admired and respected as a spiritual mentor told him that he did not think God had called him to be a pastor, he was totally relived and the burden was lifted-for him, being a pastor was ‘too difficult’. In the same way, we must recognize the things that are too great for us, things that we are not called to do nor are we equipped to do. With the world at our fingertips, we can find much to fear and we can find much to worry about, and we can find much that defies our understanding. These verses are not a call to ‘bury our head in the sand’ or to become indifferent to the world around us. Certainly, we can and should pray for God to intervene in the affairs of man and we should be involved in the things that God puts on our heart. At the same time, we must acknowledge that there are things beyond our influence, and then choose to lay those things aside. Knowing Jesus in a personal way and knowing our identity in Him has a way of simplifying life. In 2 Corinthians 11:3 Paul admonishes believers not to turn from the simplicity of devotion to Christ: “But I am afraid, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” We must remember that God knows us individually and He has called us individually and He has specific plans for each of us, and by living our life according to His plans, we experience peace. It is a good thing to recognize daily that He is the potter, and we are the clay (Isaiah 64:8) and that our part is to simply respond to His leading and be ‘good clay’ for His purposes. It is also a good thing to know that no matter what we see taking place around us and in the world in which we live, God is ruling and reigning and that His purposes are being fulfilled. There is great rest in knowing that God is our Father and that nothing can hinder His plans and purposes.
1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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