I sat in the worship service with my almost one-year-old granddaughter while her parents served in other places in the room. She was content to stand beside me with her hands grasped onto the back of the pew, looking at people behind us and the lights above us. She shuffled along the pew, slowly ebbing away from me, but I’d reach out and slide her toward me when she’d get an arm’s length away. After repeating it several times, I adjusted and strategically placed an arm around her. I still gave her space to explore but within a limit. I didn’t hold her down; I doubt she even realized I was creating a boundary, but I knew she was a bit safer.

She had freedom within a reasonable boundary.

When we trust God, we have the same. He doesn’t tie us down. He doesn’t restrict us in stifling ways. He invites us into freedom within boundaries he knows are best for us for a situation, a season, or a lifetime. We don’t always feel his presence around us, and sometimes we feel smothered by him. We want more space from him, or we want more intimacy with him. But our comfort level isn’t usually his focus. He has a more important purpose for us. He knows the structure and choices we need in order to grow in our faith.

Explore where he has you today, and worship him every breath of the way.