Do you know your limits?

Boundries

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God has been setting boundaries since Genesis 1, when he separated land from water and light from darkness.

Then he set them for Adam and Eve: where they should live, and what they could and couldn’t do. Sadly, they didn’t stick to them.

God sets them for us, too. Yet we often test them.

James and John tried it in Mark 10:37. They asked Jesus: ‘Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.’

Now, they were already part of Jesus’ inner circle and had experienced some amazing moments. They witnessed the Transfiguration and saw Jesus raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead.

But they wanted more. And so, they asked for top jobs in Jesus’ future kingdom.

When Jesus replied, he revealed that even he had limits – he said in v40: ‘To sit at my right or left is not for me to grant.’

He recognised his boundaries. Although he was one with his Father and the Holy Spirit, he had separate responsibilities.

Staying within God’s boundaries brings peace, and we must beware allowing ambition or discontent to drive us beyond them.

God knows what’s best for us - King David acknowledged in Psalm 16:6 that his boundaries were in ‘pleasant places’.

And if we’re struggling with them, we can take comfort from Paul, who wrote in Philippians 4:12: ‘I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.’ 

What was ‘the secret?’ He reveals it in the next verse: ‘I can do all this through him who gives me strength.’

Cleland Thom helps to lead Freedom Church, a praying community in the UK.