From the creation of the world, God has put boundaries in place. Read Genesis 1:1–10 and you will read these phrases:
“God separated the light from the darkness.”(verse 4)
“And separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse.” (verse7)
“‘Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place.’” (Verse 9)
Boundaries began with creation. They are godly and they are good. They bring a way of life that is pleasant.
“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.” Psalm 16:6 NIV
Why is it that when we serve the Lord we feel the need to say “yes” to everyone and everything we are asked to do for others?
I believe it is a ploy of the enemy to burn God’s children out.
The antidote to the enemy’s poison is to place boundaries around your health—spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional.
In Luke 4, Jesus is in his home town of Nazareth. He couldn’t do miracles there because of the unbelief of the people.
“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy[g] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” Luke 4:24–27
God himself put boundaries around his miracle working power through Jesus, Elijah, and Elisha!
I’ll say it again, boundaries are godly and they are good.
Sometimes saying “Yes” to God means saying “No” to others.
- Are you spread too thin?
- Do you need to delegate work in order to have more time with your family?
- Is it time to minimize time with those in your life who are toxic or drain your energy?
- Do you have “just me” time set aside?
Ask the Lord where you have been saying “Yes” when He wants you to say “No.”
Follow His direction and soon you will feel the freedom of soaring in your identity and purpose.