Pleasant boundary lines

LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

(Psa 16:5-6 NIV)

David wrote this psalm in a difficult situation, as he did many of the psalms. So this verse is even more important. We know we are secure when we are in the hands of Jesus. Independent of any people or circumstances we are secure in Jesus. He can rejoice and be glad knowing this. Hence he is able to rejoice IN his situation and say that his boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places, for those boundary lines are not defined by this world but by the assurance of his inheritance yet to come.

What a wonderful reminder for us. Our boundary lines have also fallen in pleasant places. We are exactly where God intends us to be. He is not taken by surprise as the things around us change. He is not taken by surprise with world events. He is not taken by surprise when we think our world is collapsing around us. 

Why are we surprised? We can say that it is just human nature, but that is not sufficient if we truly trust Jesus for this life as well as the next. We may not have answers for why things happen, but we can be sure that OUR boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places.

It is a strange use of the word “pleasant”, but none the less it is true, at least when we see it from an eternal perspective.

Here is yet another example of the need for us to have a proper world view. A biblical world view is so different from a earthly world view. We live within this collision of world views and have to make up our minds as to which world view is going to govern our life.

Surely this is part of what the apostle Paul meant in Romans 12 when he said:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

(Rom 12:2 NIV)

Our minds need to be renewed if we are going to understand God’s ways and what pleases Him. This is a radical change, a metamorphosis, a total transformation. For most people this is going to be a fairly long process as we are immersed in a totally different world view (or culture). Hence one of the needs for us to learn from and honour true elders in the faith.

Young people cannot make this transition easily. It is only by the application of God’s ways as seen in the Bible to everyday living that we begin this transformation. Wisdom is not gained easily or quickly, it takes time and application.

We can all begin by affirming the truth of this psalm and recognise, and rejoice in the fact, that our boundaries have indeed fallen in pleasant places, even when we do not feel like it.