4 Limits to Remember

Some days start with a “sky’s the limit” kind of feeling and a list of to-dos to check off. We hit the ground running to conquer the world. THEN… well, you know. Things happen that you did NOT intend on or wish for. You hit some limits and the whole plan for the “get everything done” day begins to unravel. It is in those moments that we have a choice - whether we will react or respond.

In his book “Lead”, Paul David Tripp says this:

“We do not have to fear our limits because God doesn’t send us out on our own; where He sends us, He goes too. We do not have to curse our weaknesses because our weaknesses are a workroom for His grace… Our limits and weaknesses are not in the way of what God can do through us, but our denial of limits and our delusions of independent strength are.”

In order to work well within our limits, it is important to understand our limits. Tripp explains the 4 major limits this way:

1. You Have Limited Gifts
   Everyone has gifts, but those gifts are not endless. Where I might have a strength, I have a limitation in another area. Easy example, I LOVE history. Love the stories, the lessons, the learning. BUT, I HATE math. HATE is a strong word, and it is accurate. I’m not good at it. At all.
   
   In leadership and in life, it’s important to see our strengths AND our weaknesses, and work with others within those strengths and weaknesses. I know I’m not great at math, so I accept that limitation and put people around me on my team who are. We win when we accept our limited gifts and make the best of what we have, and don’t have. By valuing our own gifts as well as those of others, we all move toward a “culture of respectful, appreciative, and joyful cooperation”.

2. You Have Limited Time
   OK. This one seems obvious, but how many times do we try to squeeze more into time than time allows? I know it’s not just me! We all just have 24 hours a day though. 24. Not 25 and 1/2, not 22. 24. If we spend more time on one thing, we have less time to spend on another. Accepting the limits of time and planning for it help us to get the most and most important out of what limited time we do have.

3. You Have Limited Energy
   Much like time, we only have so much energy to go around. Trying to push beyond our limits of energy is not healthy physically or emotionally. Making decisions to eat right, exercise and rest well are critical to maintaining a healthy energy level. You can’t pour from an empty cup, so take care of your cup!

4. You Have Limited Maturity
   Tripp writes “every leader is a person in the middle of his own sanctification. No matter how long we’ve been in ministry leadership, no matter how well trained, no matter how theologically mature, we are all still in need of future spiritual development. We all have blind spots. We all have areas of susceptibility to temptation. Each of us has character weaknesses. We are all still in need of the rescuing, convicting, transforming power of the gospel.”

All 4 of these limitations are important. So, let’s keep an accurate perspective of our limitations, and press into the race ahead of us.