One of our greatest temptations as leaders is to want to be more, have more, or do more than God has given us. We discard the gift of God’s limits and take charge. We try to do things only God can do and attempt to fix people and situations only God can fix.
This has consistently been my greatest spiritual challenge. When we cross over the line of God’s limits, symptoms such as the following surface: anger, tiredness, anxiety, frustration, judgmentalism, a lack of compassion, and discontentment.
When we go beyond our limits, we end up in the Evil One’s territory and the consequences are severe. (Consider Genesis 3). Our loving union with God is disrupted and, like Adam, we end up hiding behind our over-activity. When we let go and surrender to God’s limits, however, we meet Him in surprising ways.
I recently implemented a new practice that has served me to prayerfully embrace the gift of God’s limits. It is saying to myself the simple word enough. Instead of working a 24-hour day (a great temptation), I say at the end of each day: “Enough.” I let go. I also say enough in the middle of my workdays when I sense myself striving and pushing. And I prayerfully let go of the person or situation to God.
Paul said enough (2 Cor. 12:7-12). John the Baptist said enough (John 3:27). Jesus told the devil the Father’s slow timetable was enough (Matt. 4:1-11). Each embraced the Father’s limits for their lives.
God invites us say enough as well, trusting Him to build His kingdom in His way, in His timing, and in the container of the limits He has lovingly placed around us.
Enough.
What a great word.
– Pete
@petescazzero
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