The Good News of Our Limits
Find Greater Peace, Joy, and Effectiveness through God’s Gift of Inadequacy
- Christian Living
- Publisher: Zondervan Reflective (Zondervan)
- Published: 2022
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Publisher's Description
Become More Effective by Embracing Your Inability Many of us are tired, stressed, and overworked. We think that following God will bring peace, but instead find ourselves anxious. We expect a life of joy, but end up feeling stressed, living under the heavy load of new expectations. It's a spiritual and emotional rollercoaster. We search for solutions using optimization techniques, attempting to fit more and more into our already full days. We try to craft efficiently maximized lives, but these methods always fail, not because they are ill-intentioned, but because they do not go far enough. They fail to understand how God made us--as people with inherent limitations--and they fail to accept that as good. In The Good News of Our Limits, professor and longtime ministry leader Sean McGever reveals the wonderful news that we cannot do, be, or know all of the things that others expect of us--and that we often expect from ourselves. Nor should we. As it turns out, these expectations are not God's expectations. The freeing truth is that God created us with limitations, and he did it for a reason. God is the only all-powerful, all-present, and all-knowing person, and we are not. We can only know and do some things, and we can only be in one place at a time. And that is enough. Accepting this truth frees us to find greater peace and joy, and somewhat surprisingly, greater effectiveness in life. The Good News of Our Limits helps readers answer questions like: What are our God-given human limits? How do I find peace when I can't control the circumstances, tragedies, and difficulties that surround my life? How do I choose what is best when my time, focus, and abilities are limited? How many people can I realistically know personally? What can I do to deepen key relationships when I feel relationally maxed-out? How do I navigate all the information that comes my way each day? Through personal stories and fascinating cultural insights, The Good News of Our Limits calls readers to embrace the blessedness of their limitations and adopt a few key practices to better balance their lives. Biblical and practical, it points to a better way forward for us all.
Endorsements (8)
“God is God. We are not. He is limitless. We are limited. On the surface, this sounds depressing. But as this book makes clear, this truth is wonderfully freeing as it eradicates the life-sucking pressure to be everything to everyone, everywhere. I’m so glad Sean wrote this book!”
“Sean McGever has been a lifelong bearer of good news. Here, he has done it again, this time proclaiming a refreshing declaration of freedom: “It’s okay to be a human being!” Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminded us that we humans will always be limited in our understanding because we are creations. McGever has developed this idea and expanded it by encouraging us that part of being “beautifully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139) by the Creator includes our limits. They are a part of the design, not a flaw. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5:1).”
“hustle-pause spectrum” of our lives, emphasizing the reality of human limitation. According to McGever, our limitations do not pose a threat to kingdom work but are rather a reminder that God is King and we are his image bearers. I found much-needed purpose and relief in reading this book.”
“The Good News of Our Limits is a refreshing encouragement to embrace how God intentionally designed us as finite human beings. Through relatable stories and illustrations, McGever helps us all discover joy in our inadequacy.”
“McGever leads us on a thought-provoking journey of self-discovery into the beautiful realizations of our God-given limitations. Along the path, he paints a relatable portrait filled with personal and familial anecdotes, helping readers find freedom through the knowledge of the limits of their humanity. This book makes a great gift for anyone needing to understand how they can flourish despite real inadequacies, through reliance in God and in community with fellow less-than-perfect believers.”
“In a culture that constantly tells us to do more, be more, work harder, and have success at all costs, this book provides a refreshing alternative way to live. We simply can’t do it all. We need to learn how to listen to our lives, to recalibrate, and to make wise choices. Sean doesn’t just write about this, he lives it. He is one of the most highly productive, effective leaders I know. Sean also lives out of a deep sense of his own unique gifting and a sense of clarity around the priorities of his life while acknowledging his own limits. This book is filled with practical stories and keen biblical insights that, if heeded, will be good and freeing news for all who read it.”
“Rarely is a person as invested in the lives of adolescents and also committed to theological excellence as Sean. He is passionate about “being there” for a generation of kids who have struggled to find their way amid the pandemic. The mental health toll on teens and young adults has been devastating. The words in this book encourage people to receive the grace they need to be whole again and to be free from expectations of performance. Sean shows us that Scripture can free us, not get us caught up in the dos and don’ts of behavior that can be so discouraging. The freedom we have in Jesus rings loud and clear through Sean’s words.”
“The Good News of Our Limits will speak volumes to you. When the gospel says one person plants the seeds, another waters, and God creates the growth, I never really saw the perspective of this approach even though I had read this many times. The Good News of Our Limits provides a much-needed perspective of what God intends for us to do as opposed to us trying to be and do more than what is humanly possible.”
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