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October 08, 2024
The heart without walls
June 30, 2018
And all that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun. - ECCLESIASTES 2:10-11
Literally, a garden is a “walled-in” place. It is a sanctuary of peace and beauty, with boundaries separating it from the thickets and weeds of the untamed jungle. Many people believe the way to a happy heart is to tear down the wall. They give their heart whatever pleasure it craves. But in the end, with Solomon, they become cynical, and wonder, “Is this all there is?”
Boundaries are essential for peace and joy. Cain, after murdering Abel, is banished to Nod, the “land of wandering,” a place of anarchy and lawlessness. He cannot stand the thought of living in a world without boundaries. Israel’s sin tears down its protective wall, and it becomes “trampled ground.” (Isaiah 5:5)
A well-hedged garden is a paradise, but a garden without walls becomes a jungle. Your heart was made to be a garden, fragrant with the joy and peace of God. Without the walls, the healthy boundaries of positive values, your heart becomes a tangled mess.
TODAY’S FOCUS
Do you have solid boundaries defining your spiritual and moral limits or do you live by the “anything goes” philosophy? Ask the Lord to help you establish good boundaries at the right places in your heart.
