The NIV 365 Day Devotional
God Knows My Limits
We are not very understanding or tolerant of our limitations. We forget how we are formed. Instead of accepting our creatureliness as a good gift from God, we often find ourselves being harshly judgmental and unforgiving of ourselves. This lack of compassion can lead to self-abusive and self-neglectful behavior. When we forget how we are formed, we can forget to take care of such creaturely basics as sleep and decent food and relaxation.
Fortunately, God does not forget how we are formed. God remembers. He knows we have limitations. He never intended us to be superhuman! He remembers that we are “dust.”
It is important to emphasize that the metaphor of “dust” does not imply worthlessness. God does not think we are useless — merely dust to be swept up and thrown away. To the contrary, we are of utmost value to God; the “dust” refers to our weaknesses and our powerlessness before him. He knows our limits, and therefore has compassion on us. His expectations of us are reasonable.
It is also important to emphasize that compassion is not pity. God does not pity us poor, pathetic, helpless mortals. Rather, God’s compassion is the tender, encouraging, loving care of a healthy parent toward a child.
God knows and respects our limitations. They are no surprise to him. He is our Creator. He remembers what we tend to forget. He remembers that we are creatures.
Prayer:
Help me to be compassionate with my own humanness even as you, Lord, are compassionate toward me.
Taken from the NIV Recovery Devotional Bible.