Fw: A severe limit

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
To: Rob Smith <rsmith@mycwa.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 5, 2016 7:44 AM
Subject: A severe limit

Have you ever been very close to a problem or issue that you wanted to make a difference in but felt far away...unable to make an impact?  My wife, Shirley, will wake up sometimes with painful migraine headaches.  This past Saturday was one of those.  It has been frustrating to see her in such distress and feel helpless to do anything about it.  She does take medication that kicks in but, even so, the migraines really take it out of her.  I realize when these migraines take place that there is a "severe limit" to what I can and cannot do.  I can only help a little when she wrestles with this discomfort. 

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When we come to this limit it reminds me of standing on the edge of a chasm (like the picture).  I cannot cross even though I am not far away.  When Shirley has a headache, she is right next to me but I cannot cross and fix the problem.  I must go to the Lord for help.  It occurred to me that there are many "severe limits" that show my absolute inability to correct problems that are very close.  My greatest limit is my inability to fix my own separation from the Lord...my own sin.  The Lord knew this chasm existed between people and Himself and He also knew that we could not cross...we could not fix that problem.  So He crossed over to us when He sent His Son and we can trust Him to carry us over the gap to the other side.

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Severe limits can be frustrating, but they can also lead us to the only one who can truly make the difference in all the important issues.  Our limits lead to His bridge.  Because of the cross we can walk across to Him.

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Ephesians 2:¹⁷ He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. ¹⁸ Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

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blessings,

Rob Smith