Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Do You Know Your Limits? | Torah | Deuteronomy 31

Episode Date: November 15, 2022

Have you been feeling burnt out? What do your weaknesses keep you from? What are your limits and boundaries? In today's episode, Tanya uses Deuteronomy 31 to describe how God turns your weakness into strength. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Deuteronomy 31 Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now.

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmeth. Have you ever known or admired someone who seemed to be larger than life? Only to feel a little deflated when you realized they were human just like the rest of us. Kind of like the Wizard of Oz. You pull back the curtain and you realize it's just a man standing on a podium back there. Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

was arguably one of the great presidents in American history. And part of his power and effectiveness came through his image. But he was so concerned about that image that he made sure he was never video or photographed in his wheelchair. Even though he developed polio at the age of 39 and had to be lifted in and out of bed by a valet, even those fairly close to him didn't know the extent of his paralysis. He insisted on endless practice before public appearances.

because according to his sons, what the public saw should look like a man who didn't need assistance. But what if our limitations are actually not a weakness but a strength? What if the most effective leaders are those who recognize their limitations and work with them instead of against them? At the end of Moses' life, the facades of power that had led him to kill an Egyptian as a young man, And the pride that made him cold water out of a rock against the Lord's command had been kind of smoothed over and maybe softened by a faithful walk with his faithful and merciful Lord. When he was old and weak, he didn't try to look like something that he was not.

Rather, he pointed the people under his care to the truth of his human limits and the never-ending power of their true leader, the Lord Almighty. Listen to how Moses begins his farewell speech to the Israelites. In Deuteronomy 31, he says, I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, you shall not go over this Jordan. The Lord your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you so that you shall dispossess them.

and Joshua will go over at your head. Now, in his farewell, Moses admits his age, his physical weakness, and the sin that prevented him from crossing over into the promised land. And he doesn't sound like he's bitter about it, and he doesn't minimize it. He juxtaposes his human limits with the limitless power of the Lord, their better leader, who will always be with them. but this doesn't come naturally to us, does it? We do everything we can to fight against our limits and keep people from discovering them.

Why do we do that? Maybe you're limited by time or finances or your physical stature or your knowledge. At least in American culture, the phrases, I can't and I don't know, are not popular or really even acceptable sometimes. So we've created facades that we ourselves don't even recognize until it smacks us in the face and we actually have to face reality. We tell our kids, you can be anything you want to be. And while that sounds nice, is it really true? At what point do our kids need to realize they aren't actually going to be professional soccer players? Is high school too late?

Or NBA basketball players when their parents are 5 foot 5? But letting our kids live without limits on their dreams, well, it makes us feel better about our own. So we just perpetuate. But I think the Bible teaches that limits are a good thing. They're actually a gift given by us from God. So we can know him more intimately and depend on him more deeply. And at least at the right age, there are a good thing to teach the next generation about us and about them. This is what Moses is doing for the Israelites, as he's honest about his age and even his failure,

and points them to their next leader Joshua. But he makes sure they understand that it's not even going to be young, strong, courageous Joshua that should give them courage for the journey. All their confidence should come from knowing they're going into the promised land in the presence of God, in the promises of God. Twice, Moses says, be strong and courageous. It is the Lord who goes with you. He will not leave or forsake you.

We see a lack of strength or power as a weakness, but the Bible shows us that self-dependence is actually our greatest weakness. When we truly understand and rely on the Lord for our physical and emotional needs, that is when we're strong. That is the source of courage. The Bible doesn't give us all the details. details about what it was, but there was something in Paul's life that prevented him from depending on himself. He calls it a thorn in his flesh, and he says in 2 Corinthians,

three times I pleaded with the Lord about this that it should leave me. But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I should boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so the power of Christ, may rest on me. Paul and Moses have both experienced something we need to experience because they aren't deluded by pride. They aren't frustrated about what they can't do. They aren't anxious because they feel responsible for everyone all the time. Rather, they both have peace in the presence of their holy Lord. They are content to allow others to do what they cannot. They aren't fighting against time or physicality, but have submitted their desires and plans to the Lord.

What about you? Do you know your limits? What are they? Can you name them? We burn ourselves out by saying yes to things we don't have time for because we want to be liked and noticed. We fire back answers and make up half-truths because we are often unprepared. We interrupt and interject because we feel inadequate on the inside. We reject feedback because we can't tell ourselves the truth about our mistakes. But the Lord has given us boundaries and limits. He has given us the limit of time. We have no escape from the ticking clock,

and we can only find our rest in His Sabbath, in Him. The Lord has given us limited knowledge. but the beginning of all wisdom comes in fearing him. The Lord has placed limits on our ability and our strength, but we are knitted and held together by His grace. We must confess and turn from our sin over and over, and yet we are called sinless and righteous, because of Jesus, who united his life to ours.

Why then? Why does God give us these? limits, why do you have the limits you face each day? Do you see them as a blessing and not a curse? Do they drive you to worship him for his deep well of mercy and grace? Do they prompt you to see yourself rightly in the shadow of His majesty and awe? Moses was teaching the Israelites that blessing would come from dependence. He was living evidence of the blessing of weakness. He learned obedience by facing his sin head on with a loving father. He learned courage by trusting God for strength he did not possess.

He learned contentment by eating what fall from the sky each morning in the manna and the quail. Your limits hold so much more spiritual potential than your delusions of power and strength. How can you face those limits head on with Jesus today? How can you use them to show others a much greater leader than yourself in Jesus Christ? Before you forget, sign up for the brand new TMBT newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes and you'll get an email every Wednesday that will help you beat the midweek slump and go deeper in your walk with Jesus. Thanks for listening.