Part of maturity is recognizing the reasonable limitations of life in this world. We cannot do everything. But this often causes us to forget what’s possible with God. And instead of living boldly in faith trusting him, we live diminished lives in a box of our own making.
Humanly speaking, Abraham and Sarah were not supposed to have a baby at their old age, the water of the Red Sea was not supposed to part, and the walls of Jericho were not supposed to fall. But time and again God shows up for his people and reminds them of his infinite power. And this gives us the faith to trust him even in the midst of our own lives.
All too often we live from fear – believing it’s up to us to arrange the life we desire. And this can lead to desperation and despair once we recognize our rather human limitations. On the one hand, we might rush to take a job, get married, buy a house, or start our family because we believe we’re behind and we don’t want to miss our one opportunity. On the other hand, we might be prone to give up altogether when these things don’t happen on our timeline. Both approaches lack faith and forget who God is.
While we’re called to be good stewards with our time and resources, we don’t have to live in fear of missing out when we’re living by faith. Likewise, we don’t have to give up hope when things seem to be unfolding as we imagined.
Of course, some of our longing now is pointing us to life in the new heaven and earth. All the same, we shouldn’t diminish the good God is still able accomplish in this life – defying human reason and expectation.
In the end, accept human limitations without forgetting what’s possible with God. Live by faith as you continue to expect great things.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
