July 30, 2021 | Balance
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
When God created the world, He created balance within it. Before the fall, everything was set by its purpose and all was good. Even time was balanced in perfect portions. There was no reason to wish we would have spent more time with our kids as they were growing up because priorities were honored. There were no misgivings about how much of our lives we had surrendered to God, because He was our everything.
Then the devil convinced Adam and Eve that the balance they enjoyed in life was not enough. He convinced them to selfishly want for more and, unfortunately, they listened. That fateful day they ate that of which they were warned not to, the balance in life they had once enjoyed evaporated and, from then until now, mankind has suffered with our inability to find equilibrium.
Ingrained within the faithful is the understanding that God should come before all things, yet we fall prey to the same time restraints, misplaced priorities and sloth as everyone else. Losing our balance in life has become one of the devil’s most effective tools because it brings with it things like guilt and regret which he uses to break us down so that we are easier prey.
Jesus made it clear in Matthew 6:33-34 saying, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Our Savior is telling us that, to find balance in our lives, we must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. If we do this, Jesus is saying, then the rest of life will fall into balance because our priorities will be in line with our Heavenly Father’s.
Balance in life is so very fragile and the more we try to find it without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the more it escapes us. Without God there can be no proper balance because the most important substance is missing. Without God, that missing piece we all strive to identify can never be found.
To find our proper balance, we must be willing to surrender all we are and all we have to our Creator. Only then will be witness true stability and poise. This has been a hard thing to convince people because we are a determined bunch tarnished by sin who find more trust in themselves trying to find their own way. But, imperfect people can only create imperfect solutions to the imbalance in life.
So, God gives us guidance through His Word to find the balance we all search for but is elusive. He says through Paul in Philippians 4:8, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” These are the attributes of God, and these are the places in which God might be found.
So, to find proper balance in your life, set your priorities accordingly and make Christ your fist priority, trust in the Holy Spirit above all things to guide you, and make everything you do a ministry to God the Father. All other things will then have a better chance of falling in line to bring you the balance in life that you seek. Please pray with me:
Heavenly Father, thank you for offering us the balance in life we need to find our greatest happiness. Forgive us when we have not made you our first priority and challenge us to do more to make you the center of our lives. Amen.
