We’re thrilled to read devotional thoughts from Erica Botha this week! You can learn more about her by stopping by the contributors page.
What are boundaries? A fence is a boundary that tells where your yard or property begins and ends. It defines what is yours. My husband has always said a fence makes good neighbors. God set boundaries for people to follow. First, He set those boundaries starting at Creation. He rested on the seventh day of Creation. He worked, and then He rested.
We work and work and work and work some more. We are living in a busy world. There are sports, kids activities, ministries, clubs, and organizations to be involved in. The days and weeks fly by filled with activities. But, do we truly take time to set boundaries and rest? Do we let the things we are involved in, even if they are all good, dictate our lives? Have we given priority to what God wants us to?
Our first ministry is to our family. I Timothy 3:4-5 outlines the requirements for a deacon; he must manage his household well before being a deacon. Proverbs 31 describes a woman who manages her household well. Our families should be our first ministry priority. Work can creep in to time with your family. How many phone calls or emails do you answer when you are at home, not working?
The lines can get blurry, especially when we have our phones with us all the time. If something else takes away from our ability to serve our family well, we need to set clear boundaries. Perhaps you put your phone on do not disturb during some parts of the evening to block out times just for your family or schedule a time for you to answer messages when not at work.
Mark 1:35-38 says, “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ And he said to them, ‘Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.’”
Jesus was doing good things while he was in Capernaum, but after spending time in prayer with God, He knew He needed to move on to another location and continue ministering there. We need to pray and seek God’s guidance before we overload ourselves and our schedule. Even Jesus said no to a good thing in this story. Healing people was a great thing, but it wasn’t what He was supposed to keep doing where He was.
Saying no may not be popular, but we are not responsible for the responses of others. We are only responsible for ourselves. It is important to respect the boundaries that others set. When we overload ourselves and our schedules, we are on a path to burnout. God rested after creating our universe, setting a pattern for a boundary on rest.
Jesus moved on after He prayed and knew where God wanted him to serve, setting an example for saying no to good opportunities. Our ministry to our family comes before our ministry to others, setting an example of boundaries for our family.
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