“You should fear me!” says the LORD. “You should tremble in awe before me! I made the sand to be a boundary for the sea, a permanent barrier that it can never cross. Its waves may roll, but they can never prevail. They may roar, but they can never cross beyond that boundary.” Jeremiah 5:22 NET

What Lies Beyond the Boundaries of Fear?

While seeking the Lord this morning, He gave me a vision of an alpine meadow…snow still on some of the peaks around it…deep blue glacier lake…yellow and purple flowers…the warm sun on my back. He also briefly showed me the trek up the mountainside to get there…rugged, steep, not for the faint of heart…but ever His hand was reaching for mine, helping me up. He told me it wasn’t going to be easy, to which I replied most things worth having aren’t easy, no matter how much I rather they would be most days.

Then the thought came to my mind: what lies beyond the boundaries of fear? Was it this beautiful, peaceful meadow? Or perhaps the briefest glimpse He had given me of the sand, waves and mist of the sea—shrouded in gray, but stunning nonetheless? The visions reminded me of Lassen Park and the beaches of the Northern California coast I have often visited, yet they were also new somehow.

We had this conversation in the midst of me on my knees, sobbing, face to the ground asking for forgiveness for being so distracted and not taking the time to sit at His feet and listen. I’m longing to hear His voice call me out of bed in the early morning to meet with Him, to dance and laugh and see Him smile. But when I really examine my heart, I find I’ve been avoiding Him, which is ridiculous as David points out in Psalm 139:1-18: there is no where we can go to hide from the Lord. He knew us before we were even born…heaven or hell, light or dark, at the beginning and end of all things…He knows, He sees, He loves, He beckons, He forgives.

A verse in the song “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)”* says:

“Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now”

I don’t really know what lies beyond the boundaries of fear, but I do know Who lies beyond them—and as Jeremiah tells me, I should tremble in awe of the Lord, trusting that since He keeps the vast and mighty oceans within their boundaries, He can, and most certainly will, bring me safely beyond the boundaries of my fear.

Thank You, Father God, for the reminder that You control the deepest oceans and everything else in the world. Help us trust You; lead us beyond the boundaries of our fear, knowing we may fail but You never will. Amen.

Hillsong United. “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail).” Zion, Joel Houston, Matt Crocker. Salomon Ligthelm, Hillsong Music Publishing Australia (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing), 2013.