Breaking The Spirit Of Limitations

Man’s destiny is progressive. However, certain forces arise to hinder the flow of progress in life and ministry. One of these forces is the spirit of limitation. To be limited is to be restricted, resisted and restrained.
The Spirit of limitation delays destinies from getting to their ordained and expected places. The spirit of limitation is a force that must be broken, if you are to fulfill your destiny in a grand style. The Spirit of limitation makes life to perform below capacity, reduces ministry to nothing and frustrates people from being all they could be.
Limitation has the power to destroy destiny, to steal glory and joy, as well as render glorious life and ministry useless. If you don’t break the yoke of limitation, you can never get to where God has destined for you, thereby not enjoying all that has been prepared for you.
Limitation is a restriction, a bone beyond, which one may not go. It can also be defined as an imperfection or shortcoming which limits something use or its value.
It is something that prevents or restricts you from reaching your lifetime goal. It is a barrier that says you cannot go beyond where you are now.
Have you ever encountered difficulties and challenges in your life or ministry, and you had no idea how to continue pushing on? Life sometimes can be more terrifying if we fail to take on the challenges and hurdles due to a perceived danger and risk that are attached to them, or nonexistent, self-imposed barriers. In this life, there are many challenges and obstacles that are capable of stopping you from hitting your destiny and fulfilling your ministry.
If care is not taken, you can find yourself held in a particular place, without even actualizing your life long dreams. Therefore, in order to overcome them you must be ready to combat them.
BREAKING means:
-To separate into two or more pieces by a process that cannot easily be reversed or reassembled.
-Causing a habit to no longer exist.
-To stop or cause to stop, or to end, abnormal things.
Breaking the spirit of limitation is to surpass those things that limit you from making it, and break into your own record. To determine to come out of, or overcome any form of obstacles.
A decision to tackle or overcome anything with the capacity to stop or reduce you to nothing. A decision to break into new ground, and become somebody in life.
Dealing with any habit that has the potential to cage or stop you from achieving your already set goal in life.
These are some of the great people in the bible that God used, but they all understood what it meant to be limited.
THE MOSES ANALOGY
Moses appeared to be limited by his ability to speak.
“O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant, but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue, Moses said” – Exodus 4:10.
“I am nobody that I should go to Pharaoh”, he told God.”- Exodus 3:11
Moses made these statements after God had instructed him to go back to the land where he had fled from 40 years ago for the fear of his life to present himself before King Pharaoh.
Here, his inability to speak fluently became his own limitation. He was obviously afraid and wondered if he could do what God has commanded him to do.
However, he was not happy that he was the one to go to Pharaoh and make such demands. Moses was so troubled over the entire matter that he finally pleaded with God, to send someone else.
“And he said, O my LORD, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.”- Exodus 4:13
But despite all the excuses, God had more confidence in Moses’ abilities than Moses did. It was Moses’ fear and doubt that led God to raise Aaron as His spokesman.
THE GIDEON ANALOGY
Gideon felt limited by his 300 men.
“And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.”- Judges 6:15-16.
Gideon was a man called by God to be a mighty man of courage, a great warrior, a great leader, a great deliverer to Israel. Yet he was living as a common laborer.
His response was an excuse, an argument against serving his God. He asked how he could possibly save Israel.
He was too weak as an individual, too incompetent and small for such an enormous task. Even his group was the most vulnerable in the tribe of Manasseh, and his family was the least of the families in the clan.
Possibly, Gideon was also recognized to be the least within his own family, the family of Joash. This was probably due to his faith in God, a faith strong enough to stand against the false worship of his parents.
Limitations are capable of reducing your ministry to nothing. Thereby, putting you in a state of confusion and frustration. Is that your case? Are you living far below your God-given destiny? Then stand up and fight.
THE DISCIPLES ANALOGY
The disciples felt limited with the five loaves and two fishes
“When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.
And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
He said, Bring them hither to me.
And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children”.
-Matthew 14:13-21,
“And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.”- Mark 6:41.
This act seemed impossible before the disciples, who have never witnessed such in their entire life. But that also taught them who God is; He is never an orthodox God.
They saw Jesus heal people and heard Him teaching. They also heard Him proclaim that the kingdom of God had come. As proof that Jesus had the authority to tell others about God and His kingdom, Jesus performed many miracles. He healed people of terrible diseases, He made blind people see and the crippled walk. But they had not seen him feed the crowd with only five loaves of bread and two fish.
Jesus needed to show the disciples that there was no way they could solve their problems on their own. He needed the disciples to trust Him and to know that He alone was able to meet their needs.
THE 4 WAYS TO BREAK THE SPIRIT OF LIMITATION
1. First, Identify those Challenges and Prepare to deal with them:
Knowing your limitations is essential to self-growth. One of the reasons so many people fail in life is because they’re not aware of their own limitations, nor do they know how to exploit these to their own advantage.
We all have one limitation or the other, so there’s no use complaining about it. Rather, the best thing is to be aware of them and use them to move forward in life.
Otherwise, you risk being disorganized and frustrated. Therefore, no matter who you are, where you are, or what position you occupy in society, if you want to make progress, you need to be aware of your limitations, face them and overcome them.
2. Program your mindset for success:
Success is usually determined by the kind of mindset you possess in attaining your goals. Without a positive mindset, it is easy to get fed up and feel discouraged.
A positive mindset helps you to withstand the ups and downs you will encounter on your way to success in life and ministry. It gives you the confidence to fight on and believe, that even if you make mistakes, you can still make it.
3. Set a target and pursue goals:
If you really want to live a life of purpose and meaning, setting a goal for yourself is inevitable. It is important and essential in the journey of life. Set goals that are meaningful, attainable, relevant and realistic to you and your life.
Goals give our lives direction and focus and help us stay motivated over a long time. They envelop all of our plans for the future, our hopes, dreams, and visions.
Writing them down also keeps us on the part of hope to accomplish them in life. It has a way of making those goals remain fresh in our minds until they are achieved.
4. Set a deadline for your goals and evaluate them always:
As you move ahead with your goals, also take time to assess the progress of your goals. From time to time, re-evaluate your goals to see if there is anywhere you’re lagging behind.
Because change is part of life and constant, make adjustments where necessary to achieve your already set goals in life.
ROUTING PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS
“For the Lord will deliver Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they”- Jeremiah 31:11
A person limited is restricted and cannot go beyond a certain barrier in life or ministry. A life that has limitations is marked by fear, hopelessness, failure, and poverty.
Physical limitation can be a health issue or disability. It is a visible limitation.
“And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.”- Luke 8:43-48
“After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is at Jerusalem, by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue, Bethesda, having five porches.
In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.”- John 5:1-8
Don’t allow anything to limit your ministry. Trust God for your liberation from every dimension of physical limitations right now!
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13
Oh, the Philippians 4:13 battle cry. We all know it, quote it, and stand on it. It gives us great confidence in our abilities through Christ but where this verse really shines is in realizing that it’s not actually about our abilities, but rather, it’s about our inabilities.
When we look at the full context of the verse, we see that Paul was expressing his contentment to suffer and endure hardship and affliction for the sake of humility. The church of Philippi had sent him some form of support and though he thanked them for it, he also made a point to inform them that sometimes what looks like a curse is really a blessing in disguise. For him, after much seeking The Lord to remove this affliction, he had come to realize that he needed it, at least for a season. He had come to know himself enough to understand that because of the mighty way God was using him and the great revelation He was giving him, he needed the affliction to keep him humble and remind him of his dependency on God.
It reminded Paul that, though used mightily by God, he was just a man and it was only the power of God, coming through him, that was actually doing these great things and not he himself. Not only for Paul’s sake but the people’s also, because, seeing his feebleness in affliction, they were also reminded of Paul’s humanity and were more able to separate that from the power of God coming through him, rather than from him. Had they not had this constant visual reminder, they would most likely have begun to worship Paul rather than God. Paul looked past himself and had come to realize the purpose in his pain and because of that, was able to bear it with gratitude knowing that this was much bigger than him.
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every here and in all things, I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” – Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭11-13‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
It was in the seat of affliction that Paul learned to stand for God. We tend to want to hide our flaws and frailties but Paul realized that when people see how weak we are, it shows them how strong God is. I’m not talking about sin here, for we know that we are commanded to be holy even as Christ is holy (1 Peter 1:16), but rather physical afflictions. These were physical limitations not spiritual ones. Our physical flaws, frailties, and limitation remind others that the great things we do for God are not done by us but simply through us, by Him. He gets the glory and that’s the way it should be.
“For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” – 2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭6-10‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
So, never let the devil tell you that you are unqualified to be used by God. That you are too crippled, too ill, too young, too old, too reviled, too uneducated, or any other such lie. These are the most qualified of all people because it is only when the world sees the impossible strength of God coming from humbled vessels that they know they cannot deny the strength, power, and majesty of the God operating in front of them. It’s a powerful testimony when our weakness allows the strength of God to shine forth in all its glory. This is the essence of how we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. (Revelations 12:12)
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.” – ‭Acts‬ ‭4‬:‭12-14‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬