Sunday, March 23, 2025

We all have physical limitations. You can overcome some with practice, training, and repetition.

Other limitations can be temporary. Like when you have the flu or a cold. These short-term limitations can leave you lacking energy and stamina, making it challenging to finish everyday tasks.

Some illnesses are not temporary. Sometimes, they are long-lasting, challenging, and painful, driving us to desperation. When we experience these ailments, they can cause bitterness to take root in our hearts and make emotions like anger surface.

When physical healing seems unavailable, and the emotions surrounding it feel too intense to manage on our own, it can be easy to stay there in the place where we are suffering.

As Christ's followers, we are not stuck there. We can turn to God, who knows our pain and cares for us deeply.

Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

One of the greatest gifts of having a relationship with Jesus is that we don't have to navigate these feelings and limitations alone. Rather than relying on our strength, trust in Jesus, knowing his power can sustain and lead us to a peaceful heart.

Discussion Questions:

Ice breaker: Think of a time your physical body limited something you wanted to do. What emotions did it bring up, and what did you do with them?

How does God's presence bring comfort to those who are hurting?

Read 2 Corinthians 4:7-10. Paul gives us a visual of being made "like fragile clay jars" (v7). How do these verses point us to rely on God for strength more than we currently do?

What emotions do you experience when you want to do something but feel limited by your physical abilities?

Reflect, pray, and journal about a physical limitation you or someone close to you has encountered. What lesson or truths have you learned about God through this experience?

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for your unfailing love and compassion. No matter what I'm going through or how fragile my physical limitations make me, you always meet me right where I am. I want to draw closer to you, feeling your unending endurance because I know my strength will never be enough without you. My heart may be broken, but I know your love is greater than any pain experienced on earth. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Hebrews 4:15
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

This post was written by Lori Tuckerman, Director of Content for the LivingItOut Devotional.