“He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.” – Ecclesiastes 10:8 KJV
We don’t much like boundaries… they make us feel constrained… restricted… stifled…
I was reading a devotional by Meredith Houston Carr titled “Finding the Beauty In our Limitations” and the Lord spoke to my heart saying, “Limits Make You Limitless.”
I was taken back by it since, it sounded to me like an oxymoron (when contradictory terms appear in conjunction). But, like all thing ABBA, there is a deeper and more richer meaning than one can see at first glance.
Then the Holy Spirit began to open my eyes to see a beautiful truth: Boundaries Keep Us Safe
It is when we breakthrough those boundaries that we open ourselves to the enemy. When we are inside those boundaries, we are safe…. Life may not be smooth sailing (Jesus, Himself, said that we would have tribulations and trials) but, they could be A LOT worse outside those boundaries.
I think one of the best visual examples of boundaries to give us an idea of what we experience when we live inside those boundaries is found in the Book of Job:
“Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.” – Job 1:10 KJV
So, within the boundaries (hedges) He has set for us we are… limitless… Free to be all that He has preordained for us to be. The Psalmist David wrote a beautiful Psalm, 139. I encourage you to read it in its entirety. Let me give you some portions:
1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
5 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
David knew that God was infinitely acquainted with who David was…. and who he was destined to be… that knowledge was too wonderful for him to comprehend but…. He knew enough to embrace it…. And receive it… that is why he was able to pen those beautiful words in Psalm 23 verse one:
“A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.”
If the LORD is YOUR Shepherd… NO MATTER WHAT situation you find yourself in: It WILL be all right….
You have a destiny and a purpose WITHIN the boundaries He has set for you…. Be patience, beloved… wait on the Lord:
“But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. I will thank you forever, because you have done it. I will wait for your name, for it is good, in the presence of the godly” Psalm 52:8-9.
If your path is not clear to you now… it will be… Wait on Him… seek to KNOW Him as a loving Father and a Steadfast Friend… don’t see the obstacles or constraints as punishment… trust Him that He is keeping you from situations that are worse than where you find yourself….
Don’t compare yourself to those around you and their advancement… Don’t worry about others’ schemes against you:
“Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes” Psalm 37:7, NLT.
Every one of us has a calling that comes with giftings…
As a pastor, I discovered very early in my ministering that developing those giftings in others and helping them find their calling is my highest calling. But to be able to do that effectively, I found myself dealing with boundaries and constraints.
I found that I can’t lead you effectively to Someone I don’t know intimately. Nor I can I lead you to something I haven’t been there before. The preaching and teaching become just words and not life to me or those who hear it…
I discovered that the very things that make you feel constrain you will keep you on the path to being LIMITLESS…
I haven’t gotten there yet but I’m on the journey… I keep pressing forth everyday… surrendering to His will everyday… embracing where I am everyday…. Knowing that in accepting my limitations… I will be Limitless on the path He has chosen for me…
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” – Philippians 3:12 NIV