Breaking Your Inner Glass Ceiling
Recently, I had an experience I’d been wrestling with for years. Not exaggerating – years. It caused great angst and anxiety . . . sleepless nights . . . nightmares . . . and frankly, a lot of tears.
My personal reflection and study of The Mountain is You caused me to take a step back and do some individual work in addressing the situation. It took courage, determination, and a willingness to not just think through hard things, but to be willing to say hard things.
I am generally not “proud of myself” but this particular situation was hard stuff! Repressed feelings, addressing internal fears. Frankly, I was adopting a new “badass” mantra!
Until . . .
All that work produced the results I’d been praying for. Actually, results beyond my wildest expectations or dreams!
And then, the sabotaging began.
“This is too good to be true.”
“I bet they didn’t really mean it.”
“Maybe I exaggerated this in my mind, and I made it better than it truly is.”
It was as if my brain had hit an invisible wall. The concept of the “upper limit,” which Brianna Wiest describes in her book, suddenly made perfect sense. The very moment I stepped into a new level of joy and peace, my mind began pulling me back, trying to tether me to the familiar discomfort of the past.
The “upper limit” is a self-imposed ceiling. It’s not something external but an internal barrier we’ve created over time. And here’s the hard truth: we often feel safer in discomfort than we do in abundance. Why? Because the unknown—even the beautiful unknown—feels threatening when it challenges our self-concept.
In scripture, Peter’s moment on the water captures this perfectly. He steps out of the boat, trusting Jesus, and walks on water. For a moment, he is living in the miraculous. But then, he sees the waves. Fear creeps in. His upper limit—his belief about what’s possible—collides with his faith. And he sinks.
Can we get to a place where we recognize the signs of the upper limit?
Luckily, I was deep in my study for this message series and I remembered . . .
“Why are you doing this to yourself?”
If you find yourself thinking these things, you are hitting your upper limit!
- Doubt: “This is too good to be true.”
- Anxiety: “What if this doesn’t last?”
- Minimizing: “Maybe it wasn’t as good as I thought.”
My thoughts weren’t rooted in truth but in fear—fear of stepping into a new identity, a new level of peace and joy. A new place of vulnerability and trust.
Brianna Wiest suggests that breaking through the upper limit requires self-awareness and intentionality. And for me, it also required prayer and grounding in God’s promises.
When my mind whispered, “You don’t deserve this,” scripture reminded me, “You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) and people are lucky to be in relationship with you. You are not a burden.”
When fear said, “Stay where it’s safe,” faith answered, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Breaking through the upper limit isn’t about striving harder—it’s about trusting deeper.
It’s about seeing ourselves not through the lens of past wounds or failures but through eyes of Love: equipped, loved, capable, and called to thrive.
Reflection Questions:
- Can you identify areas where you may be hitting an upper limit in your life?
- How do your thoughts or actions reflect an internal struggle with receiving abundance?
- What truths from scripture can help you break through those limits? What are your “go to verses?”
Prayer:
God of abundance, thank you for your faithfulness in leading us to new levels of joy and peace. When we hit the walls of doubt or fear, remind us that you are calling us higher—to live fully in your grace and purpose. Help us to trust in your promises, to break through the limits we’ve placed on ourselves, and to walk boldly into the abundant life you’ve prepared for us. Amen.
Closing Thoughts:
Your journey to and through the “upper limit” is a testimony that God’s plans for us are always greater than what we can imagine. May you continue to walk boldly in faith, breaking through every barrier and embracing the abundance waiting on the other side.