“I, the Lord, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross. The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries I set.”
Jeremiah 5:22

Just as the Lord established physical boundaries when He created the world, He also established boundaries for our lives and relationships. A boundary is an established limit, a limit intended to create necessary space. It is the line that separates one entity from another. A boundary shows us where we end and someone else begins with the largest focus being ownership. True freedom exists when we know what we own, and what we do not, and take responsibility. Boundaries are not walls to keep others out but fences that indicate a property line. Boundaries are God’s idea to let in the good and keep out the bad.

When boundaries are at their weakest, our lives can feel out of control and unfulfilling. If you are unfamiliar with the impact of a lack of boundaries it may be expressed in  feelings of guilt, anger, confusion, fear, resentment or a deep pain connected to people in your world. If we don’t know where our responsibility lies we can avoid important aspects of life that are ours to deal with, and instead focus our minds on things that are not our responsibility. This life of confusion, bitterness and lack of control is not the life God created you for.

Through this study we hope and pray that you would come to a biblical understanding of boundaries and the freedom that exists when we live within those healthy boundaries God has established. Not only will this empower us to take responsibility for our own lives, but it will release us from the burden of taking on situations that are not ours to fix.