“For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limits.”

John 3:34

This verse makes my heart race. The idea of the Spirit, capital S- Spirit, without limits in your life should excite you. God has given us a helper here on this earth, to help us, to intercede for us, to grow us and He gives Him to us without limits. I am a rule follower to the core, so to not know where the limit is can be quite hard for me to grasp, but it makes me start to wonder where I, myself, limit the Spirit. If God gives us His Spirit without limit, the only thing holding us back from growing in that Spirit, is ourselves. WE limit the Spirit, God gives us the Spirit without limit.

I often think about how many times I’ve limited the Spirit in my own life because I’ve been too afraid of man’s judgement and whether or not I’m equipped for certain things. Which brings me to this past weekend. God randomly put the idea of mixing some of my favorite things into one event. On a prayer walk, God encouraged me to combine my love for Jesus, people, sourdough, and writing into Bagels and the Bible gathering. I loved the idea of it, but wasn’t sure about the execution. I continually said to myself,  “I believe God for it”. I sat with the idea for some time, even made a flyer to share with friends, but couldn’t find the courage to share it. I was afraid. God reminded me that it wasn’t just for me in my walk with Him, but for others as well. “For the Spirit of God is not of fear, but is of power, love, and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7  The Spirit of God is inside of me, so I don’t need to fear.  This small gathering was put together with God’s hand in it all. From the idea, to the women he brought into my home.  I saw and felt God’s hand over the entire thing.  

Leading up to the gathering, spiritual warfare was real.  I almost wrote a post on spiritual warfare alone, but decided I don’t want to give more recognition to the enemy, when the Holy Spirit’s power was far greater than anything the enemy threw my way.  Let’s just say in leading up to Bagels and the Bible, the fridge broke, the oven broke, the computer charger broke, distractions were high, and insecurities flooded my brain.  All things around me encouraged me to cancel the event, but I realized it was now- in real time action- that I needed to trust and rest in God’s power, not my own.  He would make it all come together.  I trusted him for it and I believed him for it.  One of my favorite verses I go back to when I’m struggling through unbelief is “Lord, I believe, help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24  My belief in God and his sovereignty far outweighed my unbelief of anything the outside world threw my way.  When we decide to let God move, when we believe God for it, it’s amazing how quick He is to move.  We read about how God did all these miraculous things within the Bible, hear of other people’s miracle stories, but then we tend to minimize how God can move in our own lives.  It’s almost like we let the fire dwindle to a small glow, rather than fueling it to its full potential.  I had a choice to make; succumb to all my fears and anxieties (while the reality of things breaking was real around me) or trust in God’s sovereignty, His power, and way-making character to pull through.  One choice would gain nothing in me, while the other would grow my faith.  In the faith growing route, the Spirit was able to move.  Saying we trust and putting trust into action are two different things. When we put our trust into action, the Spirit is able to move without limits.  And that’s what God did this past weekend.  

The Holy Spirit took my fears and replaced them with peace.  The Holy Spirit enabled my oven to reach the temperature it hadn’t functioned at the entire week before.  The Holy Spirit encouraged the women around me to step out of their comfort zones and step into greater faith with something new.  The Holy Spirit prompted me to include certain Bible stories in the devotional that would impact specific women in that room.  The Holy Spirit showed up in that room for each of the women within their own walks of faith.  I believed God for it and God made a way.  I keep thinking “what if I decided to choose the easier route, to just keep the idea in my head instead of putting it into action?”  For me alone, my faith grew in areas I didn’t know it needed to grow.  Instead of believing God for making it all come together, I actually believed AND let God bring it altogether.  My fears of “you don’t know what you’re doing” turned into “can we do this again?”.  God continually shows up for us and can move for us in ways we don’t realize we’ve attempted to limit Him in.  

God gives us the Spirit without limits, how can you loosen the limits you’ve put on the Spirit in your life?  What has God been placing on your heart and in your mind that you’ve been limiting his movement in?  Is fear or anxiety holding you back?  What if you took one small step to opening yourself to His Spirit and letting Him move, little by little?  Imagine how God can move in your life, how the Holy Spirit can come through for you if you turn your fears into faith steps.  

“If you love me, keep my commands.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever- the Spirit of truth.  The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.  Because I live, you also will live.” John 14:15-19