Jeremiah 50:31 - "Behold, I am against you, O proud one, declares the Lord God of hosts, for your day has come, the time when I will punish you."
Hey, it's okay!
Everybody has a limit.
Even God has a limit.
Sometimes everybody, even God, has to say, "Enough!"
And we all are best off if we'll not just declare it to whoever needs to hear it but also sit humbly under the declaration when it comes our way.
I was at a dear friend's house last night. After we finished our business, I started to reminisce. He was very kind to me in the worst season of my life. I leaned on him. But after a month, he lovingly and courageously said, "Hey, Chris, enough."
It was a critically pivotal moment in my life. If he hadn't been strong enough to lovingly draw a clear line, I might not have ever gotten back on my feet.
My friend not only set a boundary for me; he also set a foundation for me to stand on.
Boundary setting is a loving form of discipline. Discipline is simply a way of teaching for the one who administers it and a way of learning for the one who receives it. So boundary setting is a loving way to teach people to stand on their own two feet.
Sometimes it even works to their advantage far more than they could ever dream. Recently, someone asked me for some money for car repairs; a lot of money. I explained to them that my "no" was because I felt that the mechanic was taking advantage of them. A few weeks later, out of the clear blue, somebody gave my friend a really good used car. Boundary setting worked out quite well for them, don't ya' think?
Boundary setting; discipline; done in love is a tool of life and love. God even says, "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives" (Hebrews 12:6).
Give and receive love today!
Tell somebody who needs to hear it, "Enough!"
And receive it as a courageous gift of love, if someone, whether some fellow human being or the Lord God of hosts himself, tells you the same.
Jeremiah 50:31 - "Behold, I am against you, O proud one, declares the Lord God of hosts, for your day has come, the time when I will punish you."
Praise God!
(For an archive of "Day of Praise", please visit my daughter Calley's website at http://dayofpraisepc.blogspot.com/?m=1)
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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