Is God Enlarging Your Capacity?
I mentioned recently that I’ve been coming across a lot of opposition in a variety of areas. At times it’s seemed a bit overwhelming, and it started getting me to question why I was getting hit with so much. My boss at the college where I teach even joked with me not long ago saying, “Why are you always the one getting all of these weird, off-the-wall situations?” To which I responded, “You know, I’d really like to know the answer to that!” Well…I think I got it.
One morning after teaching one of my classes at Glory House, I was visiting with Ms. Susie, the Executive Director, about all the junk that I had been dealing with lately. During our conversation I said, “Why am I ALWAYS the one getting this stuff and having to deal with this stuff?” Ms. Susie answered quite frankly, “God is enlarging your capacity.”
Then I was like, “Oh no! I’ve been praying exactly that–for God to enlarge my capacity!” (insert face slap) I had prayed those exact words “enlarge my capacity”. These things were happening as an answer to my own prayer…an indirect answer of course! God didn’t just enlarge my capacity. He allowed me to encounter challenges that would stretch me and force my capacity to increase, to make my normal capacity boundary lines larger. I guess this is kind of like when people warn you not to pray for patience! Because you don’t just automatically get patience, you get opportunities for your patience to grow.
Our capacity must increase
About a month prior to this conversation, I had done a Bible reading plan about growing leadership capacity. In the plan, it said that in order “to see our dreams fulfilled and to continue having influence in God’s Kingdom, our capacity must increase.”[1] It talked about facing challenges, pressure, and stress to adjust our ability to manage those things (because we need to reach our potential). We don’t get rid of these things by running from them.
“The key to increasing your capacity is to decide you will allow God to work in your life, to stretch you beyond your comfort zone and enlarge your capacity to overcome challenges.”[2]
Easier is not always better. This reminded me of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. It HAS to go through the struggle and the challenge of fighting its way out of that cocoon. Those stresses and pressures against it are what enable it to become stronger. Without that process, the butterfly would be too weak to do what it was intended to do, and the same is true for us at times. Sometimes we need the struggle to make us stronger and to enlarge our capacity and ability to accomplish the things that God has called us to do.
Making room for growth by enlarging capacity
I also remembered that I had been previously (earlier in the summer) listening to some podcasts about increasing capacity for grace, and I have been fervently praying for that. Funny (not funny) that God answered my prayers with my own exact words and that Ms. Susie had reminded me, unknowingly, of those exact words that I had prayed.
“…Whenever I was in distress, you enlarged me…” Psalm 4:1 (TPT)
What I DIDN’T know was that by praying for increased capacity, I would be intentionally inviting in challenges, pressures, and stress. It makes sense logically though. To grow and enlarge something, it needs some pressure and stresses upon it. It has to be stretched outside its current zone in order to make room for growth. Here are a few examples:
- A balloon. Stretching and then blowing pressure into a balloon enlarges its capacity and causes it to grow and expand.
- Exercise. Working out (physical fitness) puts pressure and even some pain on muscles, but that’s how the muscles grow.
- Bullets or rockets. Pressure projects bullets and rockets to move forward and hit their intended targets.
You don’t have a stress issue, you have a capacity issue
Throughout the reading plan that I had done, it said, “You don’t have a stress issue, you have a capacity issue,”[3] and “…if you are going to grow your capacity, you must get good at balancing your responses to the ups and downs as they come along.”[4] As God was preparing me to enlarge my capacity, he was teaching me to be consistent and have stability as I would face challenges. It was important that I learn not to swing back and forth like a pendulum or have extreme fluctuations. I also learned that we cannot grow our capacity without growing our trust in God.
“My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things. And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.” James 1:2-4 (TPT)
God was already preparing me, before I even knew it…
Something I like to do from time to time is look back over things that I’ve written in my journals. I’ll find helpful things for my current situation and quite often see evidence (in notes I took) of God preparing me in advance for things that I’m about to face. This was precisely the case in this instance.
When I looked back over my entries from months prior, I had some notes written about “capacity”. I couldn’t believe my eyes! In fact, I had actually written down, “Capacity—repeated word lately. I need to GROW my capacity in and of grace, of joy, and for leadership.” I had made a note of this verse:
“And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.” 1 Chronicles 4:10 (NKJV)
I have often quoted this verse asking God to enlarge my territory or expand my abilities in some area. Apparently, when I wrote this, I felt it was relevant to asking God to expand or enlarge my capacity.
Expanding, removing boundaries, and spacious places
Also written in my journal, about a week after that initial entry, was another entry labeled “capacity”. I had some notes about expanding, increasing capacity, removing boundaries, enlarging, and making a way into spacious places.
I had made note of some verses that stood out to me in a different way. My friend, Gwen, had made several highlights in the Bible app that really spoke to what God had been revealing to me about enlarging capacity. They used words like “expanding”, “boundary lines”, and “spacious places”. I believe these were all relevant to God preparing me for this whole “capacity expansion project” about to take place!
I had written:
“God is preparing me to expand, increase, remove boundaries, etc., but first I have to enlarge my capacity in order to be able to handle new things.” (I had circled “preparing” because I pay attention to that particular word this year since it’s my theme word for the year.)
Gwen’s highlighted verses:
“The Fear-of-God expands your life; a wicked life is a puny life.” Proverbs 10:27 (MSG)
“An undisciplined, self-willed life is puny; an obedient, God-willed life is spacious.” Proverbs 15:32 (MSG)
“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” Psalm 16:6 (NIV)
“You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.” Psalm 31:8 (NIV)
“When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; he brought me into a spacious place.” Psalm 118:5 (NIV)
“He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” 2 Samuel 22:20 (NIV)
“Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.” Romans 8:6 (MSG)
“Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!” 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 (MSG)
Take Some Practical Steps to See if God is Enlarging Your Capacity:
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First, if you notice that you are facing some challenges and opposition, maybe even more than usual, know that God might be enlarging your capacity.
God doesn’t cause bad things to happen to you, but he can definitely use them. He can take what the devil means for harm and turn it around for good (Genesis 50:20). If you find yourself asking this question like I did, “Why is this kind of stuff always happening to me?”, then God might be preparing you for something and increasing your ability to handle difficult situations and circumstances. He may have something bigger in store for you that he needs to prepare you for. God may be moving you into a new spacious place!
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Secondly, you might have inadvertently invited some challenge in.
Have you prayed or asked God to help you grow, increase, or expand in some area? If so, you might have just invited some challenges, pressures, and stresses in, because through those things God can help you to increase, expand and grow.
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Then, face your challenges, pressures, pain, and stress head on knowing that growth and increase will follow!
Don’t run, hide and avoid them. Face them. Remember the butterfly emerging from the cocoon. You are growing stronger in spite of and because of these things.
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Finally, read through some of these other helpful posts on dealing with enemies or opposition:
Don’t be surprised when people hate you
Prayer for when you’re verbally attacked
Scriptures to help when you feel attacked or persecuted
Heap burning coals on their heads
When you are wronged, stay on God’s side
So do you think that God might be enlarging your capacity? Tell us about it by leaving a comment below.
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If you know anyone that could benefit from this, please pay it forward! Share this post via the sharing links below. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)
- Houston, Brian. “Help Me Grow My Leadership Capacity-Day 1.” Bible.com, www.bible.com/reading-plans/13671-leadership-capacity-by-brian-houston/day/1. ↑
- Houston, Brian. “Help Me Grow My Leadership Capacity-Day 1.” Bible.com, www.bible.com/reading-plans/13671-leadership-capacity-by-brian-houston/day/1. ↑
- Houston, Brian. “Help Me Grow My Leadership Capacity-Day 1.” Bible.com, www.bible.com/reading-plans/13671-leadership-capacity-by-brian-houston/day/1. ↑
- Houston, Brian. “Help Me Grow My Leadership Capacity-Day 4.” Bible.com, https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/13671-leadership-capacity-by-brian-houston/day/4. ↑
