Session 5 · Psalm 103:13-14
Chapter 4: Hint, the solution isn't more time
God knows you are dust; choose what to say no to so a yes can be real.
Book reading: Chapter 4: Hint: the solution isn't more time (pp. 61-74)
Many of us treat our limits as a flaw in the design. We think the answer to a crowded life is to squeeze in more: better habits, tighter schedules, a few extra hours. Psalm 103 offers a different starting point. "As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust." God is not surprised by your limits. He knows them, and his response is compassion, not disappointment.
That sets up the main idea of Comer's fourth chapter. His thesis is that the answer to an overbusy life is not finding more time. It is slowing down and simplifying around what matters. To make that work, he holds two truths together. People are made in God's image (Genesis 1:27), and people are made from dust (Genesis 2:7). Following Jesus means living into both. We have real potential, and we have real limits. Comer lists some of those limits: body, mind, gifting, personality, family of origin, season of life, and a finite number of years. He cites Peter Scazzero's point that God's will is found in our limitations, not in spite of them.
Think about how freeing that is. A limit is not only a wall. It can also be the shape of the place where God meets you. If your energy runs out by evening, if your season has small children or an aging parent, if your gifts point one direction and not ten, those facts are not obstacles to God's will. They are part of how you hear it.
Then comes the harder part. Comer notes that agreeing to one thing means declining others. Every yes has a hidden no inside it, and if you will not choose the no, your calendar will choose for you. He also contrasts the hours we give to screens with the hours we give to what matters, and he reads Ephesians 5:15-16, which urges careful living and making the most of the time. The point is not to cram more in. It is to spend limited time on purpose.
A practical way into this is to ask what you can say no to so that a certain yes becomes real. A no to extra evening commitments might become a yes to rest. A no to a second screen might become a yes to dinner at the table.
If your limits come from grief, illness, or depression, be gentle with yourself and do not push through alone. Tell a pastor, counselor, or trusted friend. God's compassion in this psalm covers you exactly as you are.
Key idea
Limits are part of God's design, not a failure, and choosing what to decline is how a meaningful yes becomes possible.
Questions to consider
- Comer lists limits like body, mind, personality, family of origin, and season of life. Which limit do you resist most, and what might God be saying through it?
- What is one yes you want to say more clearly this season, and what no would protect it?
Journal prompt
Finish this sentence a few ways: "If I accepted that I am dust, I would stop trying to..." Then write what you think God's compassion looks like toward that limit.
Practice
1. List five things you have said yes to this month. 2. Pick one to decline, shrink, or end. 3. Write the yes it will protect, such as a meal, an evening of rest, or a walk. 4. Tell one person what you are doing so you can stick with it.