WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
FEBRUARY 19, 2023
TOPIC: DON’T LIMIT GOD
BY T. O. BANSO
“Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ So I answered, ‘O Lord GOD, You know’” (Ezekiel 37:2-3 New King James Version).
Brother Andrew whose real name was Anne van der Bijl was a Dutch Christian missionary who engaged in smuggling Bibles behind the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War. Famously referred to as “God’s Smuggler,” he was born in 1928 and died in 2022 at the age of 94. He smuggled Bibles and other Christian literature to people in communist countries. It was an illegal and highly risky mission but God protected him in miraculous ways.
As he drove his blue Volkswagen Beetle car stuffed with Bibles across borders, he would pray, “Lord, in my luggage I have Scripture I want to take to Your children. When You were on earth, You made blind eyes see. Now, I pray, make seeing eyes blind. Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see.” The guards never did. God made seeing eyes blind! There is nothing God cannot do.
In Ezekiel 37, the Bible records a conversation between God and the Prophet Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones. Verses 2-3 say, “Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ So I answered, ‘O Lord GOD, You know’” (New King James Version). Note Ezekiel’s answer to the question that God asked him.
He didn’t say that the dry bones could not live, which was naturally impossible. But he was wise to say God knew. In other words, it was beyond his understanding. Ezekiel didn’t limit God. The New International Version puts Ezekiel’s answer thus: “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” The New Living Translation says, “O ‘Sovereign Lord,’ I replied, ‘you alone know the answer to that.’”
After Ezekiel had prophesied, as God told him, the dry bones, which represented the house of Israel, lived. The bones first came together. Then the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over but there was no breath in them. Ezekiel said in verse 10, “So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army” (New King James Version).
Don’t limit God. There is nothing He cannot do. He can make blind eyes see. But He can also make seeing eyes blind! Isaiah 59:1 says, “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (New King James Version). The angel told Mary, “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37 New King James Version). Also in Matthew 19:26, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (New King James Version). Luke 18:27 puts it this way: “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (New King James Version).
In Numbers 11, Moses was wondering how God would give meat for a whole month to the six hundred thousand people he was leading, as He had said. He asked, “Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?” (Verse 22 New King James Version). Despite all the signs and wonders that Moses had seen God perform even through him and Aaron, he still seemed to be limiting God.
God answered him, “Has the LORD’S arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not” (verse 23 New King James Version). The New Living Translation says it like this: “Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!” God’s arm has not lost its power. The Living Bible puts it this way: “When did I become weak? Now you shall see whether my word comes true or not!” Just as God said, He fed the Israelites with meat. He sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall into the camp and all around it, which they gathered and ate.
Don’t limit God. Today’s English Version puts God’s reply to Moses in Numbers 11:23 this way: “‘Is there a limit to my power?’ the Lord answered. ‘You will soon see whether what I have said will happen or not’” It’s not your business to know how God will do what He says He will do. Just believe Him. Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23 New King James Version). As Hebrews 11:6 says, without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Don’t limit God, as an officer on whose hand the king of Israel leaned did in 2 Kings 7. During a famine in Samaria, the Prophet Elisha declared the Word of the LORD that the next day a seah of fine flour would be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria. But this officer asked if that could happen even if the LORD would make windows in heaven. In other words, he expressed unbelief. Did he think God was a man? But Elisha gave him a proper answer: “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it” (2 Kings 7:1-2).
It happened exactly as Elisha said. When the prophecy of the miracle of abundance in Samaria was fulfilled, the man died when the people trampled on him. Verse 17 says, “Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him” (New King James Version).
Have faith in God. Don’t limit God. He has no limitations. He can do all things. When the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom, urgently needed a miracle of water for the army and animals, the Prophet Elisha told the king of Israel, “For thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink’” (2 Kings 3:17 New King James Version). Elisha added that this was a simple matter in the sight of the LORD.
The LORD miraculously supplied the water and the Moabites were defeated, as Elisha had said. Without rain or wind, the land was filled with water. “Now it happened in the morning, when the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water” (verse 20 New King James Version).
Don’t limit God. Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper (2 Chronicles 20:20).
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, forgive me for limiting You. Holy Spirit, help me to believe in God and not limit Him. I shall no longer limit You in Jesus’ name. I receive the supernatural supply of my need in Jesus’ name. Father, make blind eyes see and make seeing eyes blind where Your children need such miracles today.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
