I have plenty of limitations.

Unlike God, who, in my worldview is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, I only know what I know. And I am constantly learning that I know less than I thought.

I am only in one place at a time, and I don’t always feel present when I’m there.

I have the strength of only one person, and I often wish that person were stronger.

And like you, I only have twenty-four hours in a day. I spend around six of them asleep, three of them distracted, and at least one angrily commuting somewhere. If I get eight productive hours in a day, I rejoice.

I believe, however, that we are all made in God’s image and likeness.

And one of the attributes he has given us is creativity.

We can dream. We can design. We can build.

And when we do something repeatedly, we can improve daily. We can get smarter, stronger, and more capable. We can grow.

We can also get wiser.

My church’s word for 2025 is wisdom. The question is not what we know, but what we live.

My pastor describes wisdom as applied understanding, the art of building a life that endures.

Wisdom is knowing the difference between the things we cannot change, and the things we can, so that we can fight the right fight.

We gain wisdom by walking toward purpose and away from harmful habits. We gain wisdom by accepting our limits and allowing God to carry us despite them.

We learn both from the smart choices we continue, and the mistakes we stop.

The good news is that while we have limits, God has none.

John 3:34 says I give My Spirit in unlimited measure. Today, I’m thanking God for spiritual abundance. I pray for abundant revelation, abundant power, and abundant truth.

Psalm 37:24 says “I will take hold of your hand to keep you from falling. “ No matter how dizzying the heights, God will guide us. No matter how treacherous the terrain, He will lead the way.

I just want to encourage someone today: If you have been waiting to move forward because you don’t think you know enough, have enough, or are good enough,

the good news is you will never know enough, have enough, or be good enough.

Confidence is not a prerequisite for trying.

You don’t just play the games you’re pretty sure you’ll win. Sometimes you just have to get in there and swing. And when you do that, you may just be surprised by the results.

One of the best words of counsel I ever received from a mentor, as I wrestled with my ego, and writer’s block, was “you’re smart, but you’re not as smart as you think you are.” It stung in the moment, but it took all the pressure off. I didn’t have to be the best. I didn’t have to create something unprecedented. I just had to take what I had and give it my best shot.

When Paul asks Jesus to remove a thorn in his flesh, he declines, saying “My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness.” When we can’t do it all, we get to see just how much God can do through us.

The liberating paradox, therefore, is that even though, on some objective level, we don’t have enough juice to succeed on our own, we have enough juice to try. And we don’t need anyone’s permission to do it.

And if you are one of those people, like myself, who can start something new, and immediately begin lamenting that you didn’t start it ten years ago, I want to invite you to join me in getting over myself.

We cannot change the past. We can only do the right thing now.

We can also recognize that God is sovereign.

Maybe you had the idea last year, but not the grace to carry It out.

The answer to the question, "how old will I be when I finish?" is the same age you’ll be if you don’t.

So just do it.

And ask God for help with it.

And learn from the mistakes you make in it.

And then teach someone else how to do it, too.

I don’t know what you’re building, but I can’t wait to see what it becomes.

And I can’t wait to see who you become, either.

Happy New Year.

(Photo Credit: Adnan Habib)