Limiting God?

God is limitless. Nothing is impossible to Him. But He has given us free will, and He chooses not to force us to accept His greatness or His help. So there is a sense that our choices limit what God can do for us.

Our human minds are extremely limited. There are things that baffle the human understanding. Can we limit a limitless God? Do we limit the way God works with us?

Consider some of the ways the Bible presents God:

• “Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?” (Job 11:7).
• “My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits” (Psalm 71:15).
• “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5).

We, as Christians, serve a truly limitless God. There is nothing beyond His capabilities. He is not restricted to our understanding of the universe. To Him, all things are possible, and nothing is out of His reach. We have a record of Him stopping the sun and walking on water. If He is not limited by His creation, then why do we, His very creation, try to limit Him?

One of the many problems that the children of Israel had was that they limited God in their minds. “How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power” (Psalm 78:40-42).

How do we limit God?

The children of Israel limited God by refusing to go into the Promised Land. An 11-day journey turned into 40 years (Deuteronomy 1:2-3). They didn’t believe God could conquer their enemies. They lacked faith. A lack of faith in God limits what God will do for us. Christ said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).

God seeks to give us every good gift. But what can God do for us if we don’t allow Him to do it? Just like the children of Israel, we are headed to a Promised Land. We are on the path to the Kingdom of God. Are we limiting the progress we could be making by not giving God our full effort? Are we stuck in a spiritual wilderness?

Any time we ignore the leading of the Spirit of God, we limit His ability to work in our lives. God’s Spirit is a precious gift that He gives to us to help us. We must take advantage of it. It gives us the strength and wisdom to do what is right. His Spirit is a tool that we have to use if we are to grow. And God wants us to grow. If we don’t use it or if we quench it, we won’t grow.

Anytime we reject the opportunity to learn the knowledge of God, we limit what God can do for us. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6).

Don’t we have a desire to know all that we can about God? Knowledge of anything else just doesn’t compare to the wonderful knowledge of God.

The Creator transcends creation

We have to let God be God. We do not need to put limitations on Him in our minds. If you built a robot and programmed it to act a certain way, it would be limited by the laws that govern its programming. You, its creator, are not limited by that programming. Would it make sense for the robot to describe you in terms of zeros and ones?

We are likewise limited by the laws that govern the world in which we live. We are human and programmed to operate in this physical realm. How can we look at God, who is spiritual and far greater than us, in terms of “zeros and ones”?

God is not limited. He is not bound by the same conditions that bind us. How do you explain the awesomeness of God? Simple answer—you don’t. You let Him do it through His marvelous works. We are able to recognize these works, though, and appreciate His awesomeness! “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25).

“Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, if you know? Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar” (Proverbs 30:4-6).

“‘Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?’ says the LORD; ‘do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:24).

God does what no one else can do. He’s given impossible victories; He delivered Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego from a fiery furnace; He makes possible a way for us, simple lowly humans, to become children of the Almighty God! Now who else can offer something like that?

But we must not limit God. We have to allow Him to work fully in our lives. When you limit Him, you reject His authority in your life in place of your own.

Put God first!

Johnathan Armstrong attends the Little Rock, Arkansas, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, and is a graduate student working on his doctorate in physics.

For more related material, see:

• What Is Faith?
• Science Can't Fix Our Problems
• Unthankful to Our Creator