Accepting Limitations

Humans were built with limits and not one person is perfect. Take the pressure off of yourself — it only matters what God and you think of yourself.In the journey of life, everyone encounters roadblocks limiting us in what we can or cannot do. Our response in coming in contact with hardships varies in every state of life we are in, however we can rely on the Lord for His strength to accept limits in life, and not let them negatively cloud our approach to fully living.

What does it mean for one to “accept their limitations”? Mental health and psychology blogger, Steven Pace, describes one’s ability to accept their limits as the definition of success. When an individual is able to see physical or mental restrictions and chooses to recognize them as reality instead of ignoring them, it can be considered a success, in that their found perspective on life declares that they cannot be held down by such struggles. They are able to be at peace and not at war with themselves.

To accept, according to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, means to recognize as true, or to believe. Limitations refer to a restriction— a limiting rule or circumstance. Being able to recognize that our restrictions are present and real can be overwhelming and often discouraging when you feel you cannot control particular aspects of life. However, the way we respond can be triumphant, in that we can come to accept that these limits exist in our lives and do not define our worth, purpose and strength.

Because we often cannot change obstacles that are thrown our way, we should not fight our realities in trying to force it to be something it is not. Yet, we should not choose to ignore them either, for if we are ignorant to our realities, we only harm ourselves from not being able to accept the truth. We will always be searching for ways to avoid confronting our limits instead of facing them.

The following limitations are mountains that are often seen as impossible to climb:

Financial state and social status

Level of education

Lack of material things
Physical and mental illnesses and injuries
Physical and mental disabilities

Often, it is not in our power to control our circumstances, or what we can and cannot do.

Though certain aspects in life are difficult to cope with, we must not dwell on what we have no control over. Instead we must press on and look to what is good.

How Can We Accept Our Limits:

Jesus came to give us “life in its fullness until we overflow”— John 10:10 (TPT). We firstly have to understand that these limits were placed in our lives, not by God’s doing for us to endure suffering, but rather by the works of the enemy, or perhaps simply life’s circumstances. “A thief has only one thing in mind — he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy.” This does not align with God’s heart for His people; everything that is not of Him is apart from Him.

Humans were built with limits and not one person is perfect. Take the pressure off of yourself — it only matters what God and you think of yourself.

We were created to live dependent lives, never surviving on the basis of our own strength, wisdom and control. Ask for help when you are struggling, whether from God or other loved ones.

We cannot compare ourselves to other individuals, though this is easier said than done. You were created to be you, not someone else. Find things that make you you and embrace them.

Identify your strengths and build upon them to grow and improve. This shifts the focus onto your capabilities, giving way for opportunities relating to your strengths to come. We have the choice to place our efforts in dwelling on limits, or in said opportunities.

Because such limits are present in our lives, we may as well learn from them. God often wants us to learn as much as we can from being in certain situations, or maybe He just wants us to simply be- be with Him and not fret about what we can’t understand or change.

What Limitations Teach Us:

Author, Courney Reissig of the Gospel Coalition, speaks to how life’s and individual limitations serve as a reminder that “God is God, and we are not”. There are no limits to who He is and how He works.

We frequently believe that He ‘should have made a move or change’ in certain situations. However, that is when we try to put a label and expectation on what God should do, but when put into perspective, He is all-knowing and we are finite. We tend to place God in a box of what He can and cannot do. Just as in John 11, Mary and Martha claimed if Jesus had arrived earlier, their brother would not be dead. Yet Jesus then raised Lazarus from death. We must not box God in, because His Spirit will move in ways we will not understand.

We also learn that the role of limits placed in our lives are for us to not remain comfortable with life on this world, for there are far greater things ahead in the Kingdom of God to come.

"In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.”— 1 Peter 5:10

Reissig also explains how it is ‘only when we are confronted with difficulty do we begin looking forward, longing for a better life.’ As Christians, our limitations move us forward to look and think toward that glorious day— when our faith is made sight, every tear is wiped from our eyes, and we are with our Savior forever!

“The key to embracing our limitations is not found in our own strength, as if mere willpower would be enough to carry us through. Rather we find the key to our strength in the strength of Another—the God who loves us dearly. That is how we face the trials, disappointments, limits, and sufferings. We trust in the God who made us, saved us, and loves us enough to walk with us even in the darkness.” —Courtney Reissig

By recognizing that limitations exist within life and that we can choose to not allow them to hinder us from living fully, but instead put our focus on what we are blessed with in life, we are able to completely embrace both the ups and downs of life. We then shift our gaze to focus on God’s perfect plan for our lives in His story, and learn all that we can from those limitations, thus falling into a mindset and state of success.