All it takes is putting your foot in the wrong place – and down you go! It could be stairs, slippery ice, low-traction pavement, carpet that catches your shoe, a wet floor, or even somebody sticking their foot out in front of you. It’s so easy to get tripped off balance. And losing your balance can mean a nasty fall. Have you had a fall recently? Do you have balanced living?
Balanced Living Is Healthy Living
The balance thing is true for all areas of life. Relationships, managing duties, carrying out responsibilities, getting rest and relaxation, meeting financial obligations, eating right, exercise and sleep – they all need balance. Keeping it all balanced is like keeping a collection of balls in the air. Sometimes they just fall!
Personal priorities can easily get mixed up as life happens. The wear and tear of daily living is endless. Asking yourself questions helps.
- Have you found ways to combat fatigue and fear?
- How do you stay balanced and focused?
- What secrets have you uncovered that help you rise above the wear and tear?
- How do you keep first things first?
- What tactics have you engaged to avoid old, unhealthy patterns?
These are the kinds of questions you should answer to maintain balanced living. I encourage you to pull out your device – or journal. Write questions like these. Then answer each one honestly. This kind of exercise can help you identify things. You begin to see what balls are falling. You identify the need for a stronger approach and better boundaries. Plans and progress become tangible by writing things down.
An Ancient Answer
There is an ancient answer to staying balanced, but it’s pretty radical. It puts you on a path many people won’t travel. Yet, it does address the challenges of balance, priorities, focus, and wear and tear. And it works. Behavior tactics, alone, don’t work well over the long-haul. But this ancient answer does.
Staying balanced is like being centered, and it starts with having the right beginning. You need a solid anchor point that won’t shift when life does. Strong. Steady. Stable. Safe. Security for your heart and mind. Lots of great “S” words.
You need a renewal point – a pause – to regain your balance when you’re pulled off. This helps you maintain balanced living and the challenges of each day. Get back to your anchor.
What Is Your Anchor?
This is the ancient answer. The anchor you need for balanced living happens to be a Person. This person is the eternal reference point for balance. He is also a Friend who restores balance, order, inner peace, and purpose – even as daily life threatens it all. God is your anchor and your safe place.
Here are three things you can do to stay in your Anchor:
FIRST – Choosing to anchor in Jesus is an active response you make that restores you in your very middle as you turn to Him with all your heart. This is something you can do!
SECOND – Your decision to keep Jesus as your First Love gives balance to your daily life approach, even when others have turned away from you, slandered you, ostracized you, or falsely accused. This is also something you can do!
THIRD – Staying in God’s Word is a very wise use of your time and energy. Scripture renews the balance of your inner person. Read it. Study it. Memorize it. Meditate on it. Remember that meditating on God’s Word is simply picturing practical application in your life – and committing to carry it out. This is something you can do!
SUMMARY – The secret ancient key to balance is always the Son of God. Do you choose Jesus as your anchor for balanced living? Is He your first love? Are you spending time in God’s Word daily?
God’s Love And Your Choices
God has already proven His love for you. He doesn’t need to do anything more to establish His good intentions toward you. He totally wants you to have balanced living. Whether or not you choose to have a balanced life is all about your responses back to Him
Gal. 4:9 mentions the idea that whenever you give up a balanced life and walk away from your anchor (Jesus) you will likely find yourself “turning back to those weak and miserable forces.” Interesting verse! These are things like unsupportive people, hurts, unhealthy habits and patterns, self- or other-destructive behaviors, serving slave masters, etc. These weak and miserable forces throw you off-balance. No longer do you participate in balanced living when you “turn back.” Weak and miserable forces are enemy forces. Strong, powerful, balanced forces are from God’s love. Which would you rather? Why not choose God’s love, the ancient anchor point?
Freedom For Balanced Living
Christ has set you free. But how do you stay free when you may have mis-stepped, when you are confused or unsure, or when you have little control? It’s hard to stay free when others have heaped slander or judgment on you and spread it around to others, or interfered with and changed your trajectory. Maybe getting off balance is your own doing. Maybe it’s simply the challenge of living in a broken world. How do you regain balance and freedom?
How can you BE the person God designed you to be and regularly carry out balanced living?
Always Start With Jesus
This is where you start. I urge you to choose Jesus in three ways.
- First Love – Is Jesus my first love in my current choices? Have I stepped away from His anchor for balanced living?
- Driving Desire – What IS my driving desire? Something besides Jesus? If so, then I must identify and address it because it’s throwing me off-balance.
- Primary Passion – What energy is pushing me in my current pursuits? Am I working to trust, obey, and please the Lord? What primary passion has taken the place of “lord” that used to belong to Jesus?
Once you challenge yourself to reflect on and answer these kinds of questions, you can regain your balance with a refreshed perspective. Reposition yourself in freedom and launch again.
When Christ is your First Love, your Driving Desire, and your Primary Passion to your very middle, your life settles back into balance. God’s love buffers your soul from the wear and tear of life. Jesus is your safe anchor in life storms. And then you have all those “S” words again – Strong. Steady. Stable. Safe. Security. All of them describe balanced living.
Lord
1 Pet. 3:15 urges followers of Jesus to always – in every situation – “revere Christ as Lord” in your heart. Did you catch that? Your heart is your center for balanced living. There is no other place you can attain godly balanced living except in your heart.
With a “Lord” who loves you and has unlimited power, it means you can accomplish God’s purpose for your life and live up to your created full potential. God has intentions to activate both His love and power on your behalf. All of this positive, constructive energy comes out of the idea of “Lord.”
The interesting part about this relationship with Jesus as Lord is something a “servant” wouldn’t expect. It’s called “friendship.” Friendship with God! He intends to be your friend. Will you let Him? Are you ready to be a good friend back to God? He’s offered His to you and is ready to receive your friendship in return.
(Click on the image “Lord Is Before Savior” for a powerful article with more practical action steps in living a committed life as a follower of Jesus Christ.”
What Is Zealous?
Look up the word “zealous.” You’ll see words like: active, devoted, diligent, enthusiastic, eager, intense, passionate. You need to be zealous in your heart toward God – even when suffering.
Notice, those words are not feelings. They are choices. As you simply choose to be zealous back to God, your life story falls into a stable rhythm – like a good poem or song. You begin to live in harmony and rhyme. Balance becomes your footing as you anchor in God.
When you are zealous in your pursuit of God, you know where to go for help, wisdom, love, mercy, courage, forgiveness . . . everything you need for life and godliness. 2 Pet. 1:3 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” Everything you need for balanced living.
Jesus is your eternal ancient anchor. Choose to fasten yourself to Him. Keep Christ as your First Love, your Driving Desire, and your Primary Passion to your very middle! You can have all those “S” words – Strong. Steady. Stable. Safe. Secure. You can have balanced living.
Application Questions
- Are you choosing to anchor in Jesus?
- Are you keeping Jesus as your First Love? Driving Desire? Primary Passion?
- Do you keep a daily designated time to be in God’s Word?
- What practical action steps can help you keep your balance each day?
- Do you believe God can breathe new life into you?
- Do you “revere Christ as Lord” in your heart? (1 Pet. 3:15)
- Are you willing to practice balanced living, even in your troubles?
Why not have a balanced life. Start with your ancient anchor point – Jesus. He loves you. You’ve been made with intentional design. Why not find it and live in it?
Visit our website for more articles and tools to help your devotional life with God. Content of this article is taken partially from More E-pistles For An i-Generation – a great Bible study with practical application for your life.
