The Invisible Ceiling Above You

It all depends on your perspective- but there could be a ceiling of limitation above you, whether you see one there or not. According to Wikipedia, "A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that covers the upper limit of a room. It is generally not a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the floor or roof structure above"(italics mine).

You may not see this ceiling but it could be there: it's the limitations that you, or others, put on you. Try to break through that invisible ceiling and you'll see what I mean, because you'll sense resistance and pressure and limitation. Perhaps, in your family, no one has ever gone beyond a high school diploma. Or maybe you're facing a career change and it doesn't make sense to those who know you, but deep down inside, you're yearning to break through that barrier that says you don't deserve to be that fulfilled in a job. Maybe there's a ceiling on your finances or a blockage in your ability to do that one thing you know you need to do- and it's scaring you.

Of course there may be some people who don't feel like they have any limitations on their lives and maybe some are exploding through their limitations even as I write this. But chances are, if you're reading this, you might have an invisible ceiling above you, and you're realizing it now.

Let me help you get this negative covering off you. It's not really a structural element anyhow. It conceals things more than it supports things. We have dear friends who have entertained royally for months, maybe years, with a big gaping hole in their kitchen ceiling. We sip our coffee, standing underneath the exposed beams. We love their gutsy, loving hospitality that says they don't have to have a pristine perfect kitchen before they can invite people in.

Take a deep breath and ask yourself what, exactly, is your ceiling made of? What's blocking your view of God's resources, His available help? Why does it seem like problems are so big and God's promises, well, don't seem bigger? It's your ceiling. It's that limited faith: you want to believe, you try to believe, b ut you just can't believe big enough, sometimes.

Jesus addressed the issue of our limited faith in Matthew 17: 20 and said, "For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” He didn't say it won't seem impossible, just that it won't be impossible.

Ah, you have seen your invisible ceiling when you address the word seem. What things seem to be are, many times, imposing, impossible, impenetrable. When things seem overwhelming, you're hitting your head against that ceiling of limited faith or constricted faith. Yes, you can start with a mustard seed of faith, but you won't get too far in your journey of doing great exploits if it only stays the size of that seed. Start with a mustard seed of faith, yes; but LET that mustard seed GROW, because when it does, the mustard seed explodes into a plant incredibly huge in proportion to its size at the beginning. I would venture to say that the mustard seed explodes through its ceiling of limitations.

And you know what's on the other side of the ceiling of man's limitation? Heaven's floor. Remember, the ceiling conceals the underside of the floor above you. If your mustard seed of faith is growing, you'll start to hit the ceiling of resistance and then go through. You'll go from the constraints of this earthly life to the principles of the kingdom of heaven. You'll discover more and more that what things seem to be are inconsequential compared to the truth of what Jesus says they will not be: they won't be impossible.

So speak to your ceiling. It's probably yellowed with age and cracked, anyhow. It's not serving a good purpose. And when you walk around with an invisible ceiling above you, you really can't see the forest for the trees. Or I should say, you can't see heaven above you. But if you pull down the rest of the crumbling plaster above you, pull down those strongholds of resistance to new things and resistance to new journeys, you'll see God's arms opened wide, and the smile on His face. They've been there all along.