“When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance…He set the boundaries of the peoples…” De 32:8.
From Genesis to Revelation, from people to places, from land to sea God has been setting boundaries for His children motivated by His love. He knew that the flesh runs after chaos and relationships require order, intentionality, love, and patience. Seeing Beautiful Again by Lysa TerKeurst holds within it’s cover nugget after nugget of navigating through chaotic times. She wrote of a time when she ignored the boundaries that God had laid around a certain relationship. By ignoring the boundaries, she unnecessarily hurt her loved one with her words and actions. But Lysa has such a heart for helping others, her transparency is our blessing this morning.
She writes, ‘Boundaries aren’t to push others away. Boundaries are to help hold me together. Without good boundaries, other people’s poor choices will bankrupt your spiritual capacity for compassion…You’ll sacrifice your peace on the altar of their chaos’ p.89. She goes on to say that only God can bring about true change in another person’s heart and life. Her advice for us is to pray for them…love them…share godly wisdom with them. We can ultimately protect the relationship with our loved one by entrusting them to the Lord.
I tried to control a loved one for over 8 years and it wasn’t until I surrendered the control (which I never really had to begin with) to the One who controlled everything! Whatever we attempt to control will only control us. We must trust God for bringing things back into His perfect order, in His perfect timing, and in His perfect manner.
‘Lord, please forgive me for all of the times I’ve tried to step into Your place in the lives of the people I love. Today I’m releasing them into Your hands. You are their Savior, not me. Show we anywhere I need to draw healthy boundary lines, and help me maintain them with humility and love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen’ p. 90
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