“Don’t stealthily move back the boundary lines staked out long ago by your ancestors.” Proverbs 22:28
I realize this passage of scripture is detailing property divides where in ancient times boundary stones were used to mark a person’s property. I get that. If Proverbs were a simple book for simple folk, then this verse would be simply preaching: “Hey you, you’re claiming too much yard space. Move your fence!”
But Proverbs is all about wisdom.
And wisdom is all about discerning what’s really being said.
So…
Upon pondering and asking God to trigger something a little more relevant to my own life (cause I certainly don’t plan on reintroducing boundary stones to my neighbourhood or forking over large sums of cash to rebuild my fence), I felt a little Holy Spirit nudge that said, “What about plans?”
We all have goals.
We all have dreams.
We all have hopes and desires and wants.
January is pretty much the poster month for all of the above.
But Proverbs 16:9 spells it out perfectly:
”In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
With every decision I make without consulting Him I move one stone a little further west.
With every dream I pursue without considering Him I move another stone a little further east.
With every plan I determine, every word I speak, every action I take that does not involve His vision for my life the territory of my own purposes gets a little larger while simultaneously making the territory of His purposes a little smaller.
Don’t move the boundary lines.
The call God has on your life is so much better than anything you could every build or try to create for yourself. Trust that what was staked out long ago is a promise that will never fade.