Putting Limits on God?

"And now the Lord says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, And My God shall be My strength), Indeed He says, 'It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.' " Isaiah 49:5-6 NKJV Isaiah is my favorite Old Testament book. I find great wisdom and direction as well as great comfort in it. Here we see Isaiah with a limited vision, a vision to reach Israel. In itself, that's not a bad thing as God calls us all to reach out & minister to those in our peer group, those we have influence with. And, that's a good beginning...but we shouldn't stop there. God has a way of putting us into places & situations where we can minister to people who are quite different from us, people we wouldn't normally encounter in our day to day life. God's intention for Isaiah was for him to reach a much wider circle, to the ends of the earth. That sounds a little like the Great Commission recorded in Matthew 28:19-20, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." We limit God by limiting ourselves. If we are truly saved, blood bought children of God, then we should have a desire to share Jesus with others. Our cup should be filled to overflowing & spill and splash out all over those we come into contact with. But, we need to think outside the box, get outside our comfort zone, dare to be bold & different (some of you are already thinking that I myself am quite different without accentuating that fact in any way...), so we can share the love of God with a larger group, so we can make Him known to our friends' relatives and friends, so we can go to different areas of our town, our state, our country, and the world...so we can have seemingly chance (but really God-ordained) encounters with people in real world, life and death situations and tell them about Jesus. We have to meet them at their time & place of need. There is no limit to what God can do in & through a life that is totally surrendered to Him. What has He called you to? He's been whispering something to your spirit for some time. Are you ready to trust Him & step out in faith and act on it? I'm reminded of an old song some friends & I used to sing may years ago. Ponder its words... "Step into the water, wade out a little bit deeper. Wet your feet in the water of his love. Oh, Step into the water (children) Wade out a little bit deeper, come join the angels singin', praises to the Lamb of God. It's time we the people, stand up for what is right. It's time we squared our shoulders back, and raised our swords to fight. For the Bible is our weapon, and the spirit is my shield. The church needs more of its members to be workers in the field." Are we putting limits on God by putting limits on ourselves? Shouldn't we listen to that gentle nudge of the Spirit as He woos us and say, "Here am I, Lord, send me!"? Isn't it time to trust Him and step into the water? Isn't it time we stood our ground, prepared to fight for His Cause & His People? Step out today, God will walk with you through the fires and the floods (Isaiah 43:1-3), He loves you & has called you for such a time as this, to be His mouthpiece and proclaim Him to those lost in sin. Are you ready? Do you have your armor on? Then, raise your sword, soldier, and march into battle in the Lord's Army! Our Great Commander will lead the way. We just have to walk in it... Blessings! Tony