Episode #320 God’s Design for Boundaries – Everyday Awake

Friends, I used to think that saying “yes” to everything was a sign of strength. You know that saying about how, if you need something done, give it to a busy person. I relished in the opportunity to show anyone that I could handle whatever they threw at me, that I could get it done, even though I was so busy. And I thought that if I could juggle all the things, I was being faithful right now.

It took a few burnouts to realize that limits aren't proof of weakness. They're evidence of God's design. I'm talking with you about that today because I imagine that at least some of you can relate to this struggle. See, when God created the world, he built limits into everything. Day and night. Land and sea. Work and rest.

The first “no” in scripture wasn't punishment, it was protection.
And I'll read for us from Genesis 2:15-17:

“The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

This happens before sin enters the story and that matters. God gave Adam freedom with boundaries because freedom without boundaries isn't freedom at all. It's chaos.

The Hebrew word here for "keep" is shamar, which means to guard or protect. So Adam's role wasn't to endlessly produce. It was to care for, to guard and protect what was entrusted to him. That rhythm is still baked into creation. Work and rest. Give and receive. Speak and listen. Plant and harvest.

I used to think limits meant letting people down because inevitably if I said “no” to someone, I was dropping this expectation I had of myself, of being able to do everything without limit. But every time I've honored a boundary that God set, I have found more peace, not less.

Theologically boundaries mirror God's own character because he is infinite and as humans, we are not. That's part of what keeps us safe inside his care. He made us as humans to have limits, to have boundaries, to exist within the confines of time. When we accept God's boundaries, as finite beings who are cared for by an infinite God, a bunch of really good things happen:

We stop performing for love.
We learn to say “no” without shame.
We trust that what God gives us is enough.
We rest in him instead of trying to be him.

Boundaries protect us from burnout and comparison and false responsibility. They keep us with God, not just working for him.
So friend, I wanna encourage you today, you are not made to hold or handle everything. Faithfulness is saying “yes” to where God calls you, and faithfulness is saying “no” where he doesn't.
Your "no" might be the most faithful “yes” you speak this week.
And I really can resonate with this topic today because I'm in a season of really exciting “yeses” and really hard “nos”. But I want to go through life and ministry and work with God. Not just working for him. And not just burning myself out because I can't hold a boundary.

And so I am practicing this conversation with God on the regular right now, and I invite you to do the same. And so here's a question that you can take to him:

God, what limit are you inviting me to honor as a way of trusting you?

I know there's something he wants to share with you.

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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