I recently conducted a reader survey, and one of the topics you want to learn about most is setting boundaries. Last week I wrote a devotion for Devotable, which I feel is a great introduction to this topic. Here’s a peek at the devotional:
Good fences make good neighbors. I enjoyed reading that line in Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall” poem for the first time in high school. But at the time, I didn’t understand the relevance it had to my struggle with setting boundaries.
As a child of divorce, I tended to let people run over my walls because I was afraid to say No and face more rejection. At the same time, I feared letting anyone get too close, so I constructed a fortress around my heart to avoid having to say Yes.
Many of us struggle with setting and maintaining healthy boundaries. We either let people trample our fences, or we erect stone walls where wooden fences would suffice. We also set overly strict boundaries on ourselves in some areas of our hearts and minds, and not enough boundaries in others.
A life with boundaries is pleasing to God. When I was an adult, I discovered that Jesus set the example of a life with boundaries. In fact, He told his disciples this:
“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” – Matthew 5:37 ESV
How many times have you said Yes, but wanted to say No? How often have you said No when you needed to say Yes? Have you ever considered that evil, as Jesus describes here?
If you have clear, well-defined boundaries, your Yes will mean Yes and your No will mean No.
Boundaries may seem like restrictions, but like all of God’s law, they provide true freedom and lasting peace. Share on XRead the rest of this post by clicking here. Please join me on Tuesdays in April for more posts about setting boundaries.
If you liked this post, I would appreciate your shares on social media!
This post may be linked up at these linkups.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
If you make a purchase through the provided links, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you in advance for supporting my writing ministry!
My weekly newsletter Tea on Tuesdays is delivered at 3:00 p.m. Central time every Tuesday. I write an exclusive devotion for you each week that I share with you first.
To receive the newsletter, please subscribe below. I can’t wait to share personally with you each week!
