Lines on the Floor

“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” Joshua 1:8

Children need boundaries. As parents, it’s our job to draw lines around the areas in which our children can safely function. We correct them if they step outside the lines because the lines are there for their safety and protection. Children raised within safe boundaries become successful adults. 

In the early years of a children’s ministry that I was overseeing, we would bring the kids into the sanctuary for worship. We would have them all stand together at the front of the church to encourage participation, but there was one little boy who was bent on doing his own thing. In the middle of a song, he would take off running down the aisle or around the church despite our efforts to encourage him to stay with the group. 

After several failed attempts to keep him reigned in, the leaders and I got together to discuss how to keep this little boy contained during worship. We decided to get some tape and use it to draw a giant box at the front of the church. We told the kids they could worship God by dancing, clapping, singing, raising their hands, kneeling, or just standing, but they had to stay inside the box. That night when the lights were dimmed and a quiet worship song was playing, I noticed the little boy standing at the very front with his toes touching the tape. His eyes were closed and his hands were raised in worship. We never had trouble with that little boy running around the church again. He just needed to know where the lines were.

In Joshua 1:8 God was showing Joshua where the lines were. “Study this book, Joshua. Meditate on it. Do what it says and you will have success in all you do.” The Word of God is like lines on the floor that we need in order to keep us from running off, doing our own thing, and getting into trouble. God’s Word provides the boundaries, marking the areas in which we can safely function. Like Joshua, we would do well to study it, meditate on it, and do what it says. Only then will we prosper and succeed in all we do.