BOUNDARIES

Another aspect which is crucial to understanding forgiveness is that of ‘boundaries’. God is a God of boundaries. In Gen Ch 1 God gathered the waters together making a separation between the seas and dry land. 

Gen 1:9,10 Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.  And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. (NKJV)

To stop the water flooding back onto the dry ground, God put a boundary in. How did He do it. He spoke a creative word and commanded the waves to remain in the place where He had put them. He drew a line in the sand and said, “Thus far and no further.”

Job 38:8-11 “Who decreed the boundaries of the seas when they gushed from the depths? And barred them by limiting their shores,  and said, ‘Thus far and no farther shall you come, and here shall your proud waves stop!’?  (TLB)

Remember when Jesus was with His disciples in a boat on Lake Galilee. A storm erupted and as water filled the boat, it began to sink. Where was Jesus. In the back of the boat, fast asleep. The disciples out of fear woke Him up: Matt 8:26 says, ‘ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.’

Jesus spoke a word of authority and commanded the wind and waves to calm down. What had He done. He had set a boundary!

Part of the righteous lifestyle of the Christian is to set boundaries with the people, circumstances and issues of life that surround them. That means making decisions which involve the words, ‘YES’ and ‘NO.

Many of us like to use the word ‘YES’ but have a problem saying ‘NO. We don’t want to upset people, especially those closest to us. We feel guilty, as if we’ve done something wrong. We don’t like being disliked!

Hence, we allow others to invade our space and privacy and allow them to dictate the pattern of our lives. We allow them to transgress our boundaries and it triggers anger, resentment and bitterness which leads to unforgiveness.

Today is the day of deliverance and hope. God is saying to you that He has given you authority and power to set boundaries in your life. To draw a line in the sand and say, “Thus far and no further”.

In our next Blog we will look at the practical details of boundaries and how to set them in our lives to bring protection, freedom and an enrichment to our relationships.

Meditation Point: I have the right to set boundaries in my life. I can overcome my fears and say NO to those closest to me because saying NO is an act of love!

 

 

 

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