Limited
Scripture Reading - Psalms 78:39-41 KJV
39 For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
40 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!
41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
Today’s lesson is a result of a recent circumstance that we encountered in our ministry. This situation included a family that is going through a difficult time due to problems in a specific area. Of course you have to know we are being very vague on purpose to not bring shame upon any personal conversations. We all know how sensitive people can be with their private information. The key we (ihlcc) will share is what the Lord spoke to our heart on what we should do to properly handle the mountain they are facing. We begin by rehearsing our own thoughts when we informed about the dilemma. We did what most people do by immediately trying to figure out what happened. Yes, even as born-again spirit filled (at least we attempt to remain full of the Holy Ghost) believers we are trained to get to the root of the problem. So we are sure you have had cases when someone reached out to you concerning a problem in their life for your thoughts. Human nature is such that we want to find out, “Why did the problem happen?” including all the little juicy details. Yes, in certain cases that is necessary but in many cases it is not. What we mean is that God works with us in spite of ourselves. The Lord seemed to speak to our heart, that even when His children aren’t perfect or well informed concerning their present knowledge and understanding He (The Lord) is still working for them. This thought surprised us. We certainly thought unless the individual changes certain behaviors and seeks God’s Face during this test and trial we are very “limited” in our prayers and counsel. However, the Good Lord told us, “You know exactly what he and she needs to remedy this predicament, so start going in that specific direction and encourage the individual to go in that direction too”. This is a brilliant strategy because we were on pause through a lack of knowledge because we felt unanswered as to why this problem occurred. The moment the Lord said, “Stop looking backward at what could have caused the problem and focus more on the direction you need to go in”, it liberated us (ihlcc) to release our faith and encourage the parties involved with the problem. The thought the Lord shared with us is that many people in the earth have problems and multitudes of believers are lacking the specific knowledge of what they are facing everyday but their ignorance of God’s Word or God’s Way of dealing with specific circumstances does not stop God from helping where He can. Yes, the Gracious Lord told us He is “limited” but not stopped from helping people. We know this to be true because we have experienced this in our own lives. So many times we think either we get this thing exactly right or we will reap no harvest of blessing. This type of all or nothing thinking is wrong thinking. We notice in today’s scripture that God remembered that His people were but flesh so He was (and still is) inclined to show mercy. Notice in verse 40 that God’s own people provoked Him (angered Him) and were grievous to Him but The Lord’s mercies failed not. Yes, even according to verse 41 when the Children of Israel turned back from following God’s Will when it was clearly revealed to them and they were in complete disobedience to God the Gracious Lord did not depart from them. To articulate the point, we are stating according to God’s Word that the children of Israel were totally wrong in their unwillingness to submit to God’s Will but the Good Gracious God did not give up on them or stop His attention and affection from going their way. No, even when the child of God flat out walks away from practicing God’s Word in a certain area it only “limits” the amount of involvement God can have with that same child of God in that area. This is amazing because we (ihlcc) now understand better if a known person is experiencing circumstances outside God’s Perfect Will the very first thing we should do is call those things which be not as though they were.-Refer to Romans 4:17 We may not always know the reasons why certain negative things happen but it is OK because we do know what they really need. If a person is sick, do they not need healing? If a person is homeless do they not need a house (or shelter)? If a person is lonely do they not need a companion? If a person is being judged by many do they not need the mercy of God? If an employee has lost their job do they not need a new one? If a person is a lost sinner do they not need The Savoir, Jesus Christ? In all these things and more the believer can very quickly ascertain the will of God to pray and speak those words over the situation because speaking and praying the right words releases faith and that releasing of faith gives God something positive to work with. Yes, in the natural that person could be clueless of their personal faults, sins and shortcomings but God through His Grace is still able to help them. The Father God wants to help all His children no matter who they are or what they are doing. The Lord just needs some cooperation from the Body of Christ speaking God’s Will in the earth to be able to establish His more perfect Will in the earth. Remember, the will of God be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Therefore please understand dear saint that even our God is “limited” when working with people with “limited” knowledge but the good news is God is never stopped. Yes, we (ihlcc) say it loudly God is unstoppable because His Word will prevail even when we don’t. So please do your part to speak forth God’s positive will (His Word) into the darkness of a negative situation and you we see the Light of Lord shining through at the end. For we know we walk by faith and not by sight. We also know that some “limitation” of God will not stop God’s deliverance for one of His Beloved Children. Yes, even as a parent if one of our immature children totally did something against our will it would “limit” our direct help but it would never stop us from doing all we can to help them when the error of their judgment caught up with them. Likewise, our Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ will never stop loving us which compels them to do good unto us even in situations where we were bad (misbehaved). Just know that even when God is “limited His limited measure of power” is still more than enough (totally sufficient) to get the job done to correct all wrongs and solve all problems in Jesus Name. Amen!