Biggest Loser

I was watching, "The Biggest Loser" the other night, and I was struck by something Bob said.  In the midst of encouraging one of the participants during a particularly painful workout, Bob, with that razor-sharp intensity of a coach, said, "You have to find new limits!"

Wham!  Straight to the point and on target!

Because the participants are vastly overweight and have been for years, they arrive with ingrained thought processes and beliefs that get in the way of change.  For many, weight issues have come to define their world; it dictates how they see themselves, tells them what they can do, what they can't do, how they can or can't do it, when they can or can't do it and most importantly, why they can or can't do something.  They live within limits they have set for themselves.  But these limits are less physical than they are psychological...they can exercise, they can discipline themselves to eat right...they just don't think they can.  If they are to move forward and continue to lose weight, they need to get rid of unhealthy thought processes - the old limits - and establish new ones.

Many people who sincerely believe in Jesus suffer some of the same issues as those on The Biggest Loser.  They let their limits define their ability.  In my role as director of a short-term mission organization, I have heard many excuses to justify a person's not going on a mission trip.  They use reasons like, "I am afraid of leaving home."  "I don't see how I'll raise the funds."   "I'm not sure if I am mature enough."  "I'm uncomfortable talking about my faith."  "I've never done anything like this before; maybe I'll choose a trip that is shorter and more manageable." 

Unfortunately, Christians often set mental boundaries in their spiritual lives that define what they can or can't do.  They learn how to survive with a stunted spiritual experience and be content with an anemic faith that hardly resembles the conviction and confidence of believers they read about in the Bible.  They may say that God is big, but live like He is small; say that He can do anything, but seldom make decisions that put that belief to the test.  They never really allow God to show them how big He is. 

Why?  Because for many people, if they haven't seen God do something, they believe He can't.  If they don't believe God can, they don't trust that He will.  At this point, believers stop stepping out in faith and determine what they can or can't do based on past personal experience.  They act out of what they can (or can't) do, not what God can do.  What do I mean?  Well, if you don't think you can raise the funds for a mission trip you feel called to, then your belief system is based on your ability, not God's.  If you don't think you can "do" a mission trip because it may be longer, more in-depth, or intense than you are used to, then your self-imposed limits are holding you back.

Sure, believers will say "God can do anything", but live according to the narrowness of their belief which has set limits in how much they will truly trust God, how much (or little) they will step out in faith, and how many decisions they make which will allow God to show them that, yes, He can do anything! 

If this sounds like you, you need to find new limits. 

The good news is that God, the ultimate coach, is constantly encouraging, and indeed urging, His people to set new limits in believing what He can do, what they can do, and what He can do through them!  The entire Bible is filled with stories of God doing the unexpected, the unbelievable, and the impossible.  It's packed with tales of God busting men and women out of the small faith they live with and letting them see what they are capable of through Him.  Our loving God is constantly pushing His people to establish new limits.

Are you being held back because you are afraid and/or lack faith?  Biggest Loser contestants have to find the strength and will-power to face the pain of physical exercise to change.  You may need to find courage to face the spiritual work necessary to change. 

Five Suggestions For Stepping Out In Faith

1.  Be willing to believe in yourself as much as God believes in you

Don't hold yourself back because you think you are unworthy or undeserving.  God can and desires to use you.  Read Exodus 3:11-4:14.

2.  Don't let fear make your decisions for you

Fear is a self-imposed limit.  You allow it a place in your life, but God wants it out.  He wants you to trust Him in every circumstance.  Read Numbers 13:25-14:9.

3.  Let go of "reality-based" limits

You may not have seen, experienced, or really encountered God in tangible, life-altering ways in your life, but God wants you to know how big He is.  I believe He is waiting to show you.  I suggest you put yourself in a position where you have to trust God.  If you can do it yourself and in your own power, you don't need God.

4.  Be willing to risk failure

Some people never trust God, lest He let them down.  Be willing to trust that for something to happen, God HAS to do it!  If it doesn't, be willing to trust that He is in that too.

5.  Be willing to establish new limits

As you experience God lead and direct you, provide in tangible ways, see Him answer prayer, remember what you experienced and then in the future, trust the Father based on what you've seen Him do.