Boundary Lines

"Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God."                    - Jim Elliot


What do you believe to be the will of God for your life these days? Is it rocking your baby and reading stories to your little ones? Is it helping your teenager develop a Biblical worldview? Is it working faithfully at your job or serving in a homeless shelter?

No matter where God has you, let me encourage you to BE ALL THERE - instead of striving toward something God does not have for you.

My life verse is Psalm 16:5-6: "Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance."

These words say to me: Kathryn, God has assigned you to a place, a position, a time. Accept that all these are good, for He keeps you safe and stable. His boundaries for you are for your good and the good of others, not to frustrate you or hold you back. You have a delightful inheritance.

But how often my soul wars against those boundary lines! I want to be over there where that lady is writing a book. Or in the next season of life where my friends' lives seem calmer. Or even next door where the kids are neater and the husband and wife like the same kind of movies. Then that still, small Voice says, "Are these where the boundary lines have fallen?... Do you trust me?"

We worship a good, kind, all-powerful Shepherd. He knows us best. He cares for us tenderly. He is aware of the dangers we cannot see. We have every reason in the world to trust God. So why don't we? Why don't I? Because I take my eyes off of Jesus, peek over the fence (the boundary line) and covet what is not good for me or what would not move the Kingdom forward. I demand my delightful inheritance now instead of remembering that God is my very great reward (Genesis 15:1). 

The key to remembering that the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places must be to recall the first part of the verse: Lord, you have assigned me. Because God will not assign us where we cannot serve in the Kingdom. He will not assign us a place of insignificance, even if it feels so. The Lord has assigned us to the best possible place to honor Him. No place could be better.  

- Kathryn Truden