Take the Limits Off

by Bernard Haynes 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7

Have you placed limits on what is possible in your life? If you have, it is time to take the limits off what God can do in and through your life.

You are limited, but God is unlimited. You are finite, but God’s power is infinite. You must be willing to say “yes” to God’s vision continually, not when you “feel” like it or when everything is going your way. 

What is fear?

Fear is an uneasy emotion that can cause you to worry about feeling incapable or helpless. It is a trigger that goes off in your mind when you feel threatened or inadequate. Fear is a major obstacle you must overcome to take the limits off living your vision.

The fear I am talking about is not a natural fear that comes as a natural response to an event happening in your life. I am talking about a crippling and paralyzing fear that encourages you to run and hide from uncomfortable circumstances. Paul in II Timothy 1:7 call this paralyzing fear, the spirit of fear. 

When the spirit of fear attacks, it immobilizes you. It keeps you from moving forward. It holds your mind hostage. The spirit of fear is a deadly device deployed by the enemy to keep you from living your vision effectively.

Fear’s schemes

The spirit of fear kept me in bondage for years. It told me what I could and could not do and where I could and could not go. Fear was my constant nemesis. Instead of challenging fear’s contrary voice, I would coward down in surrender. I allowed fear to kick my butt.

It was not until I experienced a greater revelation of II Timothy 1:7, that I decided not to yield to fear’s deadly diabolical schemes any longer. I faced fear straight on. I could no longer allow fear to steal my joy and cripple my vision. I had to think, speak and act differently.

Though I have made tremendous strides to overcome fear, I still have work to do. Fear did not go away because I made a stand. He still tries to throw me off my vision course. He rears his ugly head when I move in faith. But, I am determined to fight daily against fear and not give up or give in.

Five action steps

In my daily battle against fear, I realized five action steps you can implement today to take the limits off and live your vision at maximum capacity.

1.  Enlarge your capacity to receive. You must realize God will not give you a vision if He had not already placed in you the ability to fulfill it. Stop trying to get your vision from some self-proclaimed guru. Stop asking someone to speak vision into your life. Stop reading books and blogs for a quick five step program to make it happen. You have everything in you at your disposal to live out your vision.

God gave you a vision and the resources to bring it to pass at birth. It is time for you to tap into what’s inside of you. The things I discussed earlier can help enhance and strengthen what is already in you. But, it is your responsibility to live out your vision.

Trust me, there is more God has for you. There is more He wants to do for you. Enlarge your capacity to receive and get ready for God to show off His Greatness in and through your life.

2.  Request what you need from God. When you are in pursuit of God’s vision, you must ask Him for exactly what you need. You don’t have to be afraid. You don’t have to beat around the bush. You can ask with confidence. I John 5:14-15 drives home this point.

“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”

God knows what you stand in need of before you ask. He wants your requests to be specific. He wants your request to be in line with your vision. He wants you to ask with assured confidence that you know He hears your requests and stands ready to help you.

3.  Refuse to limit God’s power. When God reveals His vision to you, it will be bigger than what you can handle on your own. Your resources, experience, education and abilities are not enough to bring your vision to pass. You need His insight, interaction and instruction in all facets of your life to make things happen.

Don’t worry if things don’t progress as fast as you want. Keep trusting God’s vision for your life. If you allow it, worry will limit God’s power working through your vision.

When you let worry saturate your mind, you put the power in your hands. Your focus becomes about what you can and cannot do, instead of what God can do through you. Worry not only limit’s God’s power, it destroys your vision’s progress.

4.  Change the way you think. The UNCF has one of the most powerful slogans concerning the mind. They say, ‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste.’

We waste our mind by feeding it junk from television, others opinions and social media gossip. We negate the tremendous thoughts and innovative ideas that our mind can produce by thinking small and living scared.

God designed you to think creatively. He engineered your mind to respond to your vision.  The only way to change the way you think is to make positive investments in your mind.

Hang around people who will challenge you. Read books and blogs that open your mind to new information and incredible insights. Refuse to allow limited thinking to infiltrate your mind and watch God promote your vision.

5.  Magnify the Lord. When you magnify something, it does not become bigger. However, the details of what you are magnifying become clearer and you see things about that object you never knew existed.

So when you “Magnify the Lord” through your life’s vision, you become the lens for others to see Him more clearly. 

The more you magnify the Lord, the smaller your challenges and obstacles are. The more you magnify Him, the better your vision comes into proper perspective. The more you magnify Him, the more deliberate you live according to His directions.