Boundaries: Buzzkill or Blessing?

I love observing little kids. These tiny humans formulate a plan of action in their mind. “Oh boy! This is gonna be fun!” they say to themselves, giggling along the way. They set-off towards their plan when all of a sudden, like a thick dark cloud, a big bad grown human swoops in and blocks them or picks them up and moves them away from their intended path. Understandably, the tiny human is very upset at the giant one. It kicks, flails its arms around, and screams bloody murder! Why is the giant human so evil? Why would the giant human keep the tiny one from their fun?

I have a nephew – most adorable little boy. He is so independent, strong-willed and determined. Not too long after learning to walk, he discovered the stairs at his grandmother’s house – and that is when we all lost our collective peace! This little boy was so determined to get up the steps that honestly I think sometimes he must have conjured up some shape-shifting powers. You would block him and he wouldn’t remain blocked. One time it was my shift on ‘staircase-block patrol’. My nephew wobbled unsteadily towards me, spewing out excited gibberish as he walked, and proceeded to shove me out of the way with his tiny hands. I’m a good patrol soldier so of course I refused to budge. But he tried so hard that a part of me was pretty impressed by his resilience and strength. After doing our ‘blocker-blockee’ tango for a few minutes, I was torn between two decisions: should I continue to keep him safe, or should I reward his determination and just let him climb up the stairs? But while I was still deliberating, the little munchkin found the one tiny space between me and the wall, squeezed through and sauntered up the steps – flashing his toothless grin back at me, squealing with glee; utterly pleased and proud of his accomplishment.

Here is a different scenario… When my nephew is an area we deem safe, or when he is in a play pen, no one interferes with him. He has all the freedom in the world. No one tries to stop him from doing anything because the adults around him are in control over that space and they have determined that there is nothing therein that can harm their beloved munchkin.

Much like earthly parents, God the Father also institutes boundaries for us; and when we are out of line, He rebukes and disciplines us.

Boundaries… Are they a buzzkill a.k.a. killer of fun, or are they a blessing? Giving your life to Christ means living within the boundaries of His righteousness and His will. I think some people therefore hesitate to make a decision for salvation because they fear that they will have to stop doing all the “fun” things they did in the past that would not be pleasing to God. And frankly, I think that’s a valid fear. But what we fail to realize is that when we give our lives to Christ we are a new creation; under new management – and we don’t have to try to fight the old desires on our own; God gives us His indwelling Holy Spirit to help us every step of the way. The more we yield to the Holy Spirit, the less our old desires have a hold on us. Moreover, the Holy Spirit births new godly desires in us.

My Christian walk has been a rocky one to say the least. God the Father, through His Holy Spirit, would attempt to keep me in check – but like my nephew, I would sometimes shove my way past the warnings and the convictions in my heart and would set-off on my own path knowing full well that I was walking in disobedience and straying away from the protective perimeter of God’s will and righteousness. And like any child who refuses to listen to the wisdom of their parents, at some point I would inevitably get myself in trouble and would come crying back to Him to soothe away the pain. Being a merciful and gracious Father, He never once turned me away when I returned to Him with a repentant heart. But that doesn’t mean that I was always immune from the consequences of my disobedience.  Often times, although our sins are forgiven, the consequences are inevitable – much like a child who falls down the stairs and injures themselves. Sure a parent may kiss the boo-boo away, but the child still has to bear the pain and the scars.

Is God disciplining you? If so, rejoice! God tells us in Revelation 3:19- Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. And Hebrews 12: 5-6 says My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when He corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.

I am learning and maturing though; slowly but surely. Lately I have found myself thanking God on numerous occasions for the blessings that are His boundaries. I visualize God’s WILL as a compound of sorts. There is a house and a big yard and a fence surrounding the entire property. God is in there with me, hanging out with me, walking hand in hand with me, laughing with me, watching me frolic around, and letting me enjoy everything within the perimeter fence without any restrictions. He loves on me and keeps careful watch over me. He is always close; never more than a whisper away. I am doing my best to not breach the perimeter; and by God’s grace and by His Holy Spirit, I have been experiencing great success. In return, and in exchange for my obedience, these are the blessings I have been experiencing:

• Freedom!: this season of my life is the freest and the most joyful I have ever been. I am free to enjoy the life that Christ spoke of when He said “I have come to give you life and life more abundantly”. When you fully surrender to Christ, He becomes responsible for you- it is a stress-free way of living – John 10:10
• Alignment of desires: my desires are in line with His desires for my life – which means there is little friction between what I want to do vs what I should do
• Fulfillment: we are told to delight in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our hearts. Many are the times now where I just secretly hope for something and God brings it to pass without me asking. He truly is fulfilling the desires of my heart – both big and small – Psalm 37:4-5
• Increased discernment and accuracy in hearing the voice of God: it is a lot easier to hear someone when you are in close proximity to them. Many times I will sense that God has shared something with me only to go to church and hear the exact same thing from the pulpit. It’s like He is letting me in on His little secrets and giving me insight into what He is up to in our world Psalm 25:14
• Increased interaction with God: it used to be that I would experience the power of the Holy Spirit on few occasions – but now it’s almost on a daily basis. I sense His unmistakable power and presence everywhere I go and I connect with Him so much easier. I can pray with confidence and faith knowing that sin will not stand in the way of answers to my prayer
• A more robust & intimate relationship: my relationship with God has never been richer, more real, or more fulfilling! I am totally smitten by Him and even the Bible feels new and alive when I read it – everything is just that much more sweeter; more beautiful. I talk to my Father constantly about anything and everything. He has truly become my Best Friend

Another great benefit of staying within the perimeter walls of God’s will is this: no one is more powerful than God; not a one. So if something unfavourable comes your way and you know that you didn’t breach the perimeter of His will, then it means that a powerful God who can never be overpowered or defeated by anyone or anything must have permitted that unfavorable circumstance to touch you. That trial didn’t sneak into your life unnoticed by Him. And if He permitted it, then you know He is in FULL control of the situation and He has a purpose for it. As a result, you don’t fall into the trap of responding to trials with “Is God mad at me? Is He punishing me? Why me? Does He not care? He hates me doesn’t He?”… but rather you respond with “Thank you God that this didn’t catch You by surprise. Please show me the purpose of this trial and help me to mature and cooperate with you as you lovingly carry me through it.” It’s like a parent taking a child to the dentist or to get an immunization shot. Sure the child might think the parent is negligent and hateful for subjecting them to such pain – however, at the end of the day, the “pain and hurt” is for the child’s ultimate benefit. That said, we should never just sit quietly and passively and accept bad things to happen to us; no! We should actively pray for victory and protection because we shouldn’t forget that we have a real enemy who would love nothing more than to kill us, to steal from us, and to destroy us.

So how do you see godly boundaries? As an annoyance, a hindrance, a buzzkill? Or do you see them as blessings? It has taken me quite a while – but I can now unequivocally say that boundaries are a blessing; a huge blessing! God honors our sacrifice of obedience to Him when we purpose to stay within His will. It’s not to say that we won’t slip up once in a while – because we most certainly will. But the key is to quickly return to the blessed confines of His will and righteousness. Wishing you a most blessed day. 🙂

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