Bringing Balance To Your Life

Have you ever lost your balance? Odd sensation, isn’t it? To be standing or walking then all of a sudden you feel as though the carpet has been pulled out from under you. It is an odd sensation to think everything is under control and then to grasp for something hoping to not hit the ground.

Losing your physical balance can also come when you are trying to overdo it. Case in point: the other day my lovely wife came home with a trunk full of groceries. As I meandered to the garage, the testosterone kicked in. I did not want to make more than one trip, so I decided I was going to carry everything I could possibly carry, and then some! So I looped the plastic grocery sacks all up and down my arms and morphed into a pack mule as I carried who-knows-how-many pounds of groceries upstairs.

The trip went just fine, though my machismo would prevent me from saying anything to the contrary. It all went south though we when it came time to put the groceries down. I had exhausted myself carrying such a load and I wanted to just drop everything. So I did. And you can probably guess what happened next. I dropped a bottle of steak sauce; it shattered and created a colossal mess! I had tried to overdo it thinking I could take a short cut and get out of a harder job. Though I made it through the initial task unscathed, overextending myself created a worse mess.

Losing your physical balance gives us a physiological sensation or consequence. But what about when we lose spiritual balance in our lives? It is just as easy for us to bite off more than we can chew, thinking we need to be a superman or superwoman, and find ourselves out of balance spiritually. This happens when we set ourselves up as god of our lives or get more concerned with getting stuff done versus touching hearts for Jesus. It also happens when we allow others to demand more than we can give on a constant basis. This breeds resentment and burns us out.

The writers of the devotional book, TouchPoints For Leaders have this to say about balance. “Balance means living a life that honors God, others, and yourself in the way you use your gifts and spend your time and resources. One of the greatest mistakes [people] make is getting out of balance by over-emphasizing one aspect of their responsibilities at the cost of other areas. God assures you that there is a time for everything he calls you to do. Jesus, with all his potential and all the needs around Him, left much undone yet completed all God had given Him to do.”

So how can we get balance back in our lives? We need look no further than Jesus Christ. “Jesus modeled a life balanced by involvement and withdrawal, action and reflection, mission and meditation, effort and then time for spiritual energizing. This pace allowed him to remain open to God’s direction instead of human pressures. Balance helps you realize that the need and even the opportunity are not necessarily the call of God.”

So how is your balance? Are you standing tall or finding yourself struggling to find your footing? God did not intend for us to live awkward lives, but lives full of grace, glory, and growth. And when we constantly bite off more than we can chew, we leave ourselves unbalanced. So take some time to find that balance you so desperately need in your life. And in so doing, you’ll find you are honoring God, others, and yourself by not getting out of balance, dropping stuff, and leaving messes in your wake. May you find balance in your life today!