In John 8:26, Jesus followed up his response to the question posed by the religious elite in the previous verse about his identity. After making it clear he’d already said all that was necessary about himself, he commented that there was much more he could say about them. But he refrained from doing so and told them why. He said he would only speak what he heard his Father saying. He would go no further than the boundaries set by the one who sent him.

I wish I could say the same. More than once, I’ve found myself on the wrong side of a divinely-set boundary where I’ve said more than God is saying or done more than he’s doing. And every time I’ve trespassed beyond those thresholds, I’ve regretted it.

It’s like the time when I was a kid visiting a friend who lived on a large ranch out in the country. One day, he and I were shooting targets with small caliber rifles. Later that evening, my friend’s father was confronted by a group of angry men who showed up at the house. And we learned that our target practice had nearly cost them their lives. Unknown to us, they’d been pinned down by our fire after they’d crossed a posted boundary and trespassed onto the ranch. Their failure to recognize and respect that boundary created problems they couldn’t anticipate.

And that’s what happens when I fail to exercise Spirit-led restraint in my life. Whenever I choose to step anywhere but within my Lord’s footprints, I end up somewhere I shouldn’t be.

When I succumb to the temptation to believe that a situation is dependent on what I have to offer – my timing, my creativity, my words, my skill, my wisdom, or my passion – rather than trusting that God knows how to handle things, I’m in danger of crossing a line and creating unintended consequences.

If a musician in an orchestra plays notes the composer hasn’t written, the resulting sound is either inappropriately cluttered or distastefully discordant. I want to be careful to play only the music God is conducting. And I’ll bet you do to. So, let’s stop, take an honest look at ourselves, and make sure we aren’t improvising beyond the arrangement.

Let’s make fresh commitments today to follow our Savior’s example and be careful not to venture beyond the Father’s directions regarding what we say, to whom, and when as well as the actions we should or shouldn’t take in all the affairs of our lives.

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