“I’m not a man, I cannot lie. I know the plans for your life, I’m asking you to dream again, believe again and take the limits off of me.” – Israel Houghton
These words from Houghton’s song “Take the Limits Off” point to an aspect of living a Christian life that can be difficult. As Christians, we believe God is a miracle-worker but find it hard to take the limits off Him to do [things] “exceedingly and abundantly” as Ephesians 3:20 reads.
How do you take the limits off God, who is beyond space or time? You first must acknowledge that you’ve put limits on Him. Not by a lack of faith but by having a narrow faith and low expectations.
There have been times in my life when I found myself proudly proclaiming freedom as a Christian while living with low expectations of God. Lately, I’ve had conversations with friends who have the same problem.
For example, a friend shared how excited she is to start a business. She knew that she had exercised great faith by starting the business. However, now that she has made such a big step of faith, she found herself dealing with the fears and uncertainty of what to expect in the future. She was happy that the business was doing well but also scared because she felt pulled to dream even bigger.
Even though she’d dreamed big by starting the business, she was making excuses and uncomfortable with following the even bigger vision that God was showing her. I knew how she felt. I’d been there before myself many times.
When I was looking to purchase a home a few years ago, I started looking at homes that were 5 years old or less. After not having much luck, I spoke with my real estate agent about the difference in price in building a home or purchasing a somewhat new one. I was surprised to learn that it was cheaper to have the house built. In the end, I had the home built just as I wanted it. I learned to trust God in a totally new way.
Taking the limits off God is not about being greedy but about realizing that the same God who blessed you with $10 also can bless you with $1,000. We must have faith to boldly go to Him and ask for the greater blessing.
I’ve often struggled with asking God for more in certain areas of my life because I felt like I was being selfish. However, God had to remind me that he had been waiting to give me the greater blessings. God is waiting to bless us and won’t force us to take the “limitless” blessing if we don’t ask for it. But He would rather give us that limitless blessing!
Shewanda Riley is a Dallas Weekly columnist and author of Dallas based author of “Writing to the Beat of God’s Heart: A Book of Prayers for Writers.”