Limiting beliefs are beliefs that are self-deprecating. They are thoughts that 10 out of the 12
spies had when they went into Canaan to spy the land. The giants looked bigger to the 10 spies
than the God who parted the Red Sea and brought the Hebrews out of Egypt, the giants of
Canaan looked bigger than the God who provided them with Manna, Spring Water and Meat in
the wilderness.
Sometimes, limiting beliefs come as a response to past traumatic experiences. It you’ve had to
fight hard to achieve various milestones in your life or you’ve had to deal with obstacles and
challenges that have paralyzed your faith, you might begin to have beliefs that are limiting. The
Fear of Failure is a limiting belief. For several years in an abusive marriage, I was told how much
of a failure I was and how worthless I was because I didn’t bring in much income as a Pastor. In
my sub-consciousness, I began to see myself as a failure and had to fight the voice in my head
that kept telling me how much of a failure I was no matter how much I tried. The fear of failure
crippled me. I published books, developed courses and was gifted in many areas, highly
cerebral, intellectual and Spirit-filled, but the fear of failure kept me bound. I learnt to conquer
those destructive limiting thoughts with the Word of God. I do speak life over myself and
constantly replace the negative thoughts with God’s thoughts about me.
Another limiting belief is Perfectionism. Perfectionism is an obsession with flawlessness and
perfection. It is always concerned with what people will think. Perfectionism comes with critical
self-evaluations, self-doubt, unrealistic expectations and excessive concern with mistakes and
errors. Perfectionism wants to prove a point to others. Yes, we are called to excellence, and,
excellence allows for imperfections and mistakes. Excellence is concerned about the process
and the lessons learnt on the journey while perfectionism is concerned about the outcome
which has to be flawless. Many perfectionists suffer from anxiety.
Give yourself grace, you are not out to please man but God and God sees you where you are.
Do not be afraid to fail; failure is not when you get it wrong, failure is when you quit and refuse
to be all that God has called you to be. Do not allow your beliefs to limit you. God has more for
you and you need to trust His process.