Revelation 3:7-13 / Facing Our Limits
We live in a world that despises limits. And yet if we’re honest, we come face to face with the reality of our limitations over and over again: our career is on the up-and-up, but we’re confronted with a sudden health diagnosis. The blessings of a growing family feel constrained by a tight budget. A willingness to speak truth is met with disdain or rejection. Whatever it is, we all experience limits in our lives; the question is—how will we handle them?
In Revelation 3, the church at Philadelphia experiences an hour of trial that brings them to their limits. How are they to handle the day of testing that is coming upon them? To them, Christ says:
“‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name…Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”
When faced with limits and weakness, 3 truths encourage and sustain us from God’s Word:
1) Jesus knows our limits: Though there are times we have but little power, we know a God whose will and plans are irrevocable.
2) We keep His commands: In the face of limits, we can remain faithful to the Word of God.
3) We proclaim His name: Despite our limits, we continue to worship and witness to an all-powerful God.
If we’re honest though, we wrestle with this. When confronted with our limits, we frequently choose one of two well-worn paths: 1) ignore our limits and risk burnout or 2) let our limits define us and risk missing out. Jesus, however, offers us another way.
In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus shows us what it is to trust the One whose will and plans are irrevocable. In His hour of trial, Jesus proclaimed the Father’s glory through His faithful obedience even unto death. Jesus knew what it was to face trial, temptation, and death, yet He entrusted His soul to the One with resurrection power whose will was irrevocable.
As we trust Christ with our limits, we find the strength to walk the narrow road that leads to life—one that avoids both burnout and playing it safe. Instead, we find our limits are an opportunity to remain faithful to the One who holds us, trusting His will and His power so that His name is proclaimed to a watching world.
Where are you feeling limited?
How are your limits an opportunity to proclaim God’s faithfulness?
Blessings,
Pastor Kevin G