When my grandsons come to visit, they love to play in our back yard, which is sizeable. They can run and dig and explore - but we keep our eyes on them because they are boys in need of boundaries. Soon after going out to play in our yard, they are eyeing the neighbor's yard, which becomes more and more inviting as the moments pass! It's not just little boys in the backyard who need guidance. Our hearts need boundaries, too. The hymn, Come, Thou Fount of Ev'ry Blessing says: "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, oh take and seal it; seal it for Thy courts above." An old proverb points out that 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.' That's why we need good fences!
Don't confuse knowledge of the boundaries with wisdom to remain within them. Gavin and Payton know they should stay in my yard, but they need the wisdom of an adult to keep them there! Plenty of people who have wandered from the right way into sins of every description know full well what they are doing is wrong, but they do it anyway. The Proverbs reminds to "Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track " (Proverbs 3:5-6, The Message) Trust God... He will keep you on track! It is a foolish person who thinks he will never wander off the right path because "he's too smart or too good."
The road of life is strewn with wreckage from lives of educated, intelligent, and moral persons who thought they were above making some 'stupid' choice. So how do you and I avoid the same fate? The Word reminds us- "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." (Proverbs 4:23, NLT) That principle is stated in various ways throughout the Bible. What we do flows up out of who we are. The way to stay within the boundaries of a life that invites God's blessings, is not with handcuffs, but with heart change. It is critically important that you and I give the Spirit of God total access to our inner person on a daily basis. A time of quiet meditation and prayer, for even just a few moments each morning, allows Him to speak to us, to guide us, to redirect our heart's intents. Then, too, we need to feed our heart with the wisdom of the Scripture. "But, Jerry, I've already learned so much of it." You know, so have I, but we 'forget' like a kid forgets his parent's instruction. That's why we must go back again and again to reinforce the Truth. And, we must stay in regular communication with other Believers who are true friends, who love us enough to speak truthfully to us with affirmation and correction.
It is so much easier to curb an impulse of the heart than to correct a course of action!
So, are you tempted by the greener grass next door? Guard your heart!
Ask God to help you to stay within His boundaries.
Remember this -"No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it." (1 Corinthians 10:13, The Message)
______________________
Search me, O God,
And know my heart today;
Try me, O Savior,
Know my thoughts, I pray.
See if there be
Some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin
And set me free.
Lord, take my life,
And make it wholly Thine;
Fill my poor heart
With Thy great love divine.
Take all my will,
My passion, self and pride;
I now surrender,
LordIn me abide.
Cleanse Me - Edwin J. Orr
© Public Domain CCLI License No. 810055
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