Limitations are an Invitation

When God sees your city, He does not look at it by percentages or through mathematics. If one person there does not know Him and is hurting and suffering, God will leave the 99 and go find the one. God is the Creator of Heaven and earth. He loves every human being and every individual has value in His eyes because they are made in His image and likeness.

When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.

Matthew 14:13

The Scripture says Jesus saw the multitudes, had compassion on the multitudes, and healed the multitudes. Therapists, doctors, and medicine all have limits. Only the Creator can fix what is broken. Only Jesus can deliver the captives. You can have a program on your computer that tries to control your urges but only Jesus can help you be delivered from them. You can go to a psychiatrist to help you deal with your feelings but only Jesus can help you to find forgiveness in spite of all that.

Jesus is not outdated because although the advancement in technology, medicine, and science is incredible, none of them have come one degree closer to solving the sin problem. There is only one name that can do that, and that name is Jesus Christ.

Jesus saw, had compassion on, and healed the multitudes but there was something He could not do without His disciples: feed the multitudes.

Convenience Detains Your Calling

When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”

Matthew 14:15

Outwardly, this looks like a great idea but it was based on convenience instead of compassion. Anyone who has been a parent knows you cannot raise children at your convenience. You cannot have compassion if you are addicted to convenience. When you want to fulfill the calling of God in your life, there is going to be a cost. The cost is not you dying on the cross but enduring inconvenience.

Jesus’ compassion for the multitudes caused Him not to be addicted to convenience. Convenience is not bad, but don’t let it rob you of your calling. The first thing the love of God does in your life is to break you out of your convenience.

What would have happened if Jesus had chosen convenience instead of the cross?

If you spend your life at the feet of Jesus, He will pour out the love of the Father into your heart by the Holy Spirit. Then, you will begin to think of souls and the price you can pay. The compassion of Jesus will stretch your heart and you will see revival through your life.

Limitations are Opportunities For God

They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.

Matthew 14:16

Our limitation is an invitation for God to do a miracle. God will do this miracle when we submit instead of making excuses.

In your limitation, what if instead of coming up with an excuse for why nothing can happen in your life, you actually find some faith? What you have might not be enough in your hands but it is just enough in the hands of the Master, Jesus.

Stress doesn’t produce the supernatural, surrender does. We see this to be true in the following verses in Matthew.

And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish”. He said, “Bring them here to Me.”

Matthew 14:17-18

Stressing over the fact that you have very little, complaining that God didn’t give you enough, and comparing your little with somebody else’s doesn’t produce miracles. Tears don’t produce miracles. Not complaining and surrendering what you have to Jesus produces miracles. God isn’t looking for a lot. He says yours is enough if you surrender it to Me.

Jesus did not tell the boy who gave the loaves and fish to go and feed the multitude with them. He told the boy to give the loaves and fish to Him (John 6). Then, Jesus did the miracle.

God will increase what we have. God multiplies what is given away, not what is stored away. When Jesus blessed the five loaves and two fish, they still didn’t multiply. They only multiplied when the disciples gave the loaves away (Matthew 14:19-20).

It is through releasing what we have that we receive what we need.

Multiplication Comes From Releasing

When you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you receive gifts. A lot of Christians don’t even know the gifts they have because they are buried under layers of excuses and laziness. If you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, there is so much more inside you than you realize. In the same way, you don’t become fit by watching fitness videos, you become fit by exercising. When Jesus blesses what you give, you can multiply it by releasing it.

People ask how they can grow in their spiritual gifts. The answer is you have to start using the little that you have where you can. Stop looking for a lit place to be seen in and look for a dark place to shine in. Light does not need a well-lit stage. Light lights up dark places. You are a light. Your gift is an answer to somebody. You need to find a need and fill it.

God is looking for you to have an outlet, not just an inflow. Many Christians have become bottles. They gave to Jesus, and He blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them but they are not seeing any results because the water has to come out.

Give what you have where you can and it will begin to multiply and grow. Then, God will give you opportunities and greater grace. Don’t use the church to build your name but use your name, gifts, and strengths to build the body in which Christ Jesus died for.

The gifts will grow and the anointing will increase if you begin to give of yourself.

Read: Fight to Believe God’s Vision

Final Thoughts

I invite you to begin to serve. Don’t be preoccupied with what gift you have; look for where there is a need. There are too many people trying to discover their gifts and too few people trying to deny their selfishness and build the kingdom of God. Your gift will become evident with time.

Many people don’t like their jobs but still, do them. There are a lot of things you have to do in life because there is a need, not because you like it. Look for the need, and later on, you can find the passion.

Do you want to make some progress? Stop making excuses.

Give God what you have without moaning or worrying, and trust God for what you need.