Human Limitations & Inadequacies

In our daily walk, we humans are constantly confronted by our own limitations. We like to believe we’re perceptive, that our insights are sharp and our decisions wise. But how often do we stumble simply because we relied on assumptions, reached wrong conclusions, or found ourselves trapped in the narrow scope of overestimations and underestimations? Our human capacity for judgment is flawed, deeply so, and it’s only by leaning on divine wisdom that we can hope to see the world rightly.

Assumptions

Assumptions are the invisible seeds that grow into towering weeds of error. With little to no evidence, we assume—believing we’ve somehow grasped the heart of a matter without actually seeing it. The Bible warns us, “Judge not by appearance, but judge with right judgment.” How easy it is to fall into this snare, to take a quick look and assume we know everything, only to find out our assumption was painfully distant from the truth. We assume intentions, misread motives, and sometimes base life-changing decisions on faulty perceptions. Our nepotistic nature makes us associate things we identify with already as good; my way of doing things is good; only our ideas are good; our choices are good. We justify our wrongs because we see a false sense of good. Two people can be arguing: they may be both right but the human assumption is that if I’m right, then you are wrong.

When God told Samuel to anoint Saul, the only spec given in Scripture was his physical stature. Since he was the first ever king, there was an assumption that the king had to have a certain stature. Adonijah and Absalom fell for this assumption. Samuel almost fell for this assumption when he saw Eliab. However, God reminded him that He doesn’t make assumptions like men; man looks at the outward appearance but He looks at the heart. David probably looked dirty and smelly when he was being anointed king. Many marry the wrong person because they simply assumed. Some made the wrong deal based on assumptions. Assumptions are the highest thinking capability of the natural man. At least, they thought because the lowest natural man does not think at all.

Wrong Conclusions

From the seeds of assumption sprout conclusions that are often more fiction than fact. We take a few pieces of information, add our limited interpretation, and voila—a conclusion appears. But is it truth, or merely a product of our myopic view? Take Job’s friends, for instance. They assumed his suffering must be punishment for hidden sin, drawing conclusions that only multiplied his agony. So often, we conclude matters based on our narrow view of the world, failing to see the fuller picture God sees. A finite mind trying to grasp the infinite will always fall short unless it’s anchored in divine revelation. We are called to lean on the Holy Spirit to guide us in truth, to humbly accept that our conclusions are not infallible.

When the Bible said we ought not to lean on our own understanding, the Word did not miss words. The carnal mind is so predictable. When people praise you, you can know it’s easily a façade because their stances are a reflection of circumstances. They hail and support you when things go well; they insult and criticise you when things go south. Solomon calls it the praise of fools. It is sweet only in the ears of the arrogant. The carnal man is a chameleon. That is why the rich has many friends. Those “friends” are only there for the show. They will leave when the money leaves.

Job’s friends, who made the Lord angry, were trying to convince Job that he was suffering because he had sinned. People always draw the wrong conclusions; when someone is prospering it means God has blessed them. Go and look under the person’s bed. There are several Bible verses to show that the wicked can prosper. People even judge how authentic a pastor by how financially poor he looks. Some judge them by how rich they are. Dude, we can’t even use prosperity has a basis for wisdom when the Bible talks about both a poor wise man and a rich fool. Our natural conclusions are so absurd.

Wrong Estimations

We overestimate the devil at one hand and underestimate him at the other. This faulty sense of judgment also extends to the way we perceive the forces at work around us. We tend to underestimate the enemy in times of ease and overestimate his power when trials arise, swinging from reckless disregard to paralyzing fear. When we overestimate, we make him appear larger than life, casting a shadow over our faith, and forgetting that “greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.” Yet, when we underestimate him, we invite complacency, oblivious to his schemes. Both extremes are rooted in our flawed sense of balance, showing just how far our natural discernment falls short. The Word reminds us to be “sober-minded and watchful,” understanding that vigilance is not fear and confidence is not carelessness.

We overestimate our chances of failure and underestimate our ability to prevail. We overestimate someone’s gifts and talents and underestimate our uniqueness and abilities. We overestimate things falling apart and underestimate God, who holds all things together. We are so funny underestimating God. It’s both funny and sad. It’s funny because God does not take it personal and every human has underestimated God before. Moses knew God but underestimated His ability to provide 600,000 men with fish. The disciples underestimated Jesus when He told them to feed 5,000 men. All those carnal calculations we make in this feeble brain of ours is funny. It’s sad because God has to remind us time and again that He is all-Powerful and yet, we still reach the next trial and wonder how God will come through.

Human Strength & Capacity

Human capacity reveals the depths of our limitations. We like to think we’re capable—capable of handling life’s burdens, of discerning truth, of keeping ourselves safe. But if we look closely, we see that our true capacity is inherently limited, stretched thin by the weight of our ambitions and fears. The prophet Jeremiah declared, “I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.” We are frail vessels, yet we often deceive ourselves into thinking we can carry an eternal weight without having eternal power. Only through the strength of God, leaning fully on Him, do we find the wisdom, resilience, and direction we so deeply need. Recognizing this is not a confession of defeat, but of dependence—placing our fragile humanity in the hands of a steadfast Creator.

When it comes to human strength, we hold a limited and often inflated view. We pride ourselves on our willpower, resilience, and tenacity, yet these traits are paper-thin against the trials and temptations that life brings. The truth is, human strength alone is feeble. As Isaiah reminds us, “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.” We were never meant to carry our burdens alone, nor to battle the unseen forces that wage war against us by relying on sheer willpower. The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak—our strength, if anything, is a flickering flame in the face of life’s harsh winds. You can only go so far with human strength. Anyone who has made it beyond a certain humanly impossible boundary is backed by a power of some sort. Only when we surrender, acknowledging that our strength is frail, can we invite God to infuse us with His power, a strength that is made perfect in our weakness. By human strength shall no man prevail.

Sinful Tendencies

The power of sin is stronger than the will of man, and no human can conquer sin by their own might. As Paul states, “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” In fact, Paul really takes his time to break down what is naturally wrong with humans from Romans 1 to 3. Sin is stronger than anything in our natural body and soul. It builds its empire with the dimensions of our very soul. Wasn’t that the warning God gave Adam in the Garden of Eden? We literally became one with sin and there was no possible way sin in us could die without us dying. This is why Jesus died for us, as us and with us. Even so, we have to physically die to be eternally free from sinful tendencies forever. This is why the very hope of Christianity is the resurrection. Without that, we are doomed, stuck with sinful tendencies and the grasp of death, because the wages of sin is death. Hence, Jesus became sin for us, taking on our penalty of death. His death was a death for us, and in His resurrection lies our only hope.

Every religion in the world does not address this problem of sin. The best lie they offer is that your good must be more than your bad. The gospel alone addresses the reality of sin’s power—no other religion dares touch this root cause. Jesus came into the world full of problems (divorce, corruption, political unrest, ethnic wars, epidemics, etc.) and didn’t waste his time on any side mission. He came to address the root cause of it all; the sin in man. Jesus came to deal with sin, the hidden root of all human suffering and evil. Without His victory over sin, we would remain trapped in sinful tendencies, bound to the wages of death. Now in Christ, even though we are free from sin, we still have flesh, a component of us sin can easily override when given the slightest chance. It is in His life, His resurrection, that we find true freedom, a release from the eternal grasp of sin and death. Until then, the flesh and the Spirit will forever be at war within us.