Godly Boundaries

"Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me." Isaiah 49:16

Thank you again to those who have contacted me in the last year asking if I was doing okay and if I was going to blog again. A thousand thoughts are going through my mind as I sit down to write this. I know this is something God is putting on my heart to write and I've learned and 'established' so much this past year regarding my own personal boundaries. Many scriptures are also coming to mind so I pray that God connects it all together and you will receive what's on my heart.  

When we are rooted and grounded in the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:14-21), the result is healthy boundaries or walls. We know where we stand~ we stand 'in Christ' or in covenant with Christ. We know who we are and we know Whose we are. When are secure in this place, we cannot be shaken. We draw a line in the sand and say, "This is me. This is who I am. These are my boundaries."

*Personal boundaries are guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave towards them and how they will respond when someone passes those limits.*

We have external boundaries and we have internal boundaries. When our internal boundaries are sound, our external boundaries come naturally. 

Each of us have boundaries or walls. Some are healthy, some are not, and some need to be strengthened and extended. This is something that God has been establishing in me this past year. God wants our boundaries to be established by Him and His Word and for His Holy Spirit to be the One Who draws these boundaries.

It's more than that. 

We are created in His image but we are a finite being, with boundaries drawn by Him. Life, rejection, negative words, etc. want to destroy those boundaries. Sin and not knowing Him and the purpose for which we were created destroy those boundaries from the inside. It tears down our walls. It opens us up to confusion and un-Godly influence. 

When we are secure in who we are in Him, our boundaries become sound and correct. When we do not know who we are in Him we seek approval from others, do things that are not in His plan for us to do, and open ourselves to people and circumstances that are not healthy for us. 

Some people have focused in on the ability to say 'no' to other's requests, but it's more than that. 

It's knowing who you are and not compromising what you're called to do to please others.  

Not so much saying 'no' as saying 'yes' to what He's called us to do. Having a focus and knowing your purpose. I've had to pull back this past year and re-establish my understanding of who I am in Him and what He's called me to do.

We all get impressed with others at times and think they have figured out how to do it and we'll do it that way and we'll succeed but that's not what He wants us to do. We are all so uniquely created by Him and each of our paths are different. And success is not necessarily people's approval. It's His approval. 

So many people that we admire were rejected by their peers. It's only after their death that people recognized the truth in their message and embraced it.  Rejection by people doesn't mean failure. 

Social media is a very dangerous thing. It can cause us to compromise for the approval of others. There's more danger in being 'liked' than being disliked because being 'liked' is like a drug. We've all seen the child star who turned to depression and drugs when their 'stardom' ended. They don't know who they are without the love of crowds. 

The people I admire are those who stand up and say, "This is who I am. This is what I know to be true. This is how I'm going to do it." Even in the face of disapproval, they insist on who they are. In this day and age, social media is a huge influence. And it can be cruel. It shocks me the things people say. But it also shocks me how much people submit themselves to social media for approval. 

The Lord spoke to me one day and said, "The more influence you have, the more you're exposed to disapproval." And I realized I wasn't strong enough. I realized I needed to be more established in Him before I could withstand the pressure. 

I also realized that I need my blog to reflect me. And I am foremost and always a child of God, forgiven, redeemed, and restored by His love. Forever grateful. Every success I have, I owe to Him.

So I have determined to do this thing my way. And it took me a while to figure out what that was.  It's that simple. 

And I'll tell you a secret. The only reason I blog my decorating is because the Lord told me it leads people to this blog and then they encounter His love.  When reading James Maloney's book, The Dancing Hand of God, I saw scripture come floating up out of the book! I have prayed that this blog be so filled with the love of God that it causes you to have an encounter with Him. 

So I may not visit your blog. Please forgive me. My goal is to obey God in all I do~and that takes a concentrated focus at times. And I'm making a new commitment to live a purposeful life. 

love and blessings~

Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit.

Proverbs 25:28

ps: If you need help in this area, Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend is a great book.