Do you ever feel your life is out of control—out of balance? As a child of God, we must take time from our busyness to set our priorities in order. I had to learn life is a gift and should be lived well. Of course, we all have emergencies where we burn the candle at both ends, but this should not be the norm or soon there will be no candle left to burn ha ha! That candle is the spirit within us that inspires us and propels us into forward motion. The darkness refers to our confusion, hesitation, frustration, or anything that would put out the light within us, as life has been known to do. Finding balance in life applies to all age groups, as the principles remain the same. It is essential to keep the most important things on the top of the list and to allow proper time for these things so one does not burn out, become frazzled.
Have you ever felt that events in your life were dizzily spinning out of control, causing you to “lose your balance”? To speak of balance means to be poised, have stability, and a steadiness. Related words are moderation and temperate. Moderation is to be reasonable, sensible, Judicious and temperate. Moderation is closely associated with the word temperate. Temperate means: pleasant (not angry), calm (not upset), self-controlled (governing our appetites, time, thoughts, etc.), controlled (not out of control), peaceable (living within the boundaries of God’s laws), and composed (not frantic). In I Corinthians 9:25 Paul compares temperance to a race. He says, “Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.” Verses 26 and 27 speak of the discipline required. “I therefore run, not as uncertainty; so I fight, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.”
Temperance is one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Fruit means there is growth. We may not have it right now, but we can grow it in Jesus’ name. We can become that person we desire to be. The apostle Peter gives instructions in 2 Peter 1:5 to help us in this endeavor. He says it is a process of addition. “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge.” He continues that to knowledge we should add temperance; to temperance, patience; to patience, godliness; to godliness, brotherly kindness; to brotherly kindness, charity. He sums it up with this promise in II Peter 1:10: “Wherefore, the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” I personally believe this Scripture indicates that we did not initially have these things, but we are going to add to what we do have……..which is faith.
Finding balance is about finding order, planning well, and then executing the plan. And, yes, even handling emergencies that occur frequently. A balanced person has a plan and knows where they’re going. They do not just beat the air but works faithfully each day at keeping their priorities. Our priorities should include God being first, and then prioritizing family, time for self, others, responsibilities, jobs, etc. They plan their work; then they work their plan! The most obvious is; a constant relationship with Jesus Christ is essential for any person to be balanced. As our first priority, this colors everything else we do. We should find time each day to spend moments in prayer with the One who calms spirits, who heals broken hearts, who gives inspiration, direction, and strength for the tasks that await us. Praise God! Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteous, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Each of us has the same amount of time. It is how we spend our time that makes the difference. We need to be good stewards of our time. Everymorning after prayer I take a moment to write down what I feel is the highest priorities in my life for the day; then I seek God on how to fulfill each item on my list. You see, stress is a part of each of our lives. It is very real. If you’ll notice, stress has a familiar pattern: worry, strain, and nervous tension accompanied with a frenzy of rush and hurry. It is a feeling of having too much to do, too many problems, feeling driven and distraught. Stress causes us to become mentally and emotionally upset. We are out of balance! Handling stress is finding balance in our life. Guess what? Jesus gave the secret over two thousand years ago in Matthew 6:25-26, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” I believe the Lord is saying, “Don’t worry or be full of anxiety. RELAX! Let Me help you with the unknown and with the cares of life.”
Listen, people can be demanding of us. Schedules become jammed, tension becomes the norm, and we take on too much with too little time to do it. Many of us are “givers.” We give and give, even when our strength is depleted and we feel drained. We just keep saying, “Yes, I’ll do it,” all the while our spirit is crying out for some rest. How do we say no? It is very simple. JUST SAY NO! CHOOSE this day to seek God first, and I promise He will help you as you listen quietly to the great plans He has for your life. He will teach you how to balance all things well!
Let’s pray: “Heavenly Father, help me each day to have balance in my life. When I allow life’s activities, stresses, and worries to get me off balance, may I hear Your gentle voice reminding me of what is most important. Let me never forget that my relationship with You is my first priority. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen!”
One Simple Nugget: “Focus on being productive instead of busy!”
Have you ever felt that events in your life were dizzily spinning out of control, causing you to “lose your balance”? To speak of balance means to be poised, have stability, and a steadiness. Related words are moderation and temperate. Moderation is to be reasonable, sensible, Judicious and temperate. Moderation is closely associated with the word temperate. Temperate means: pleasant (not angry), calm (not upset), self-controlled (governing our appetites, time, thoughts, etc.), controlled (not out of control), peaceable (living within the boundaries of God’s laws), and composed (not frantic). In I Corinthians 9:25 Paul compares temperance to a race. He says, “Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.” Verses 26 and 27 speak of the discipline required. “I therefore run, not as uncertainty; so I fight, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.”
Temperance is one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Fruit means there is growth. We may not have it right now, but we can grow it in Jesus’ name. We can become that person we desire to be. The apostle Peter gives instructions in 2 Peter 1:5 to help us in this endeavor. He says it is a process of addition. “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge.” He continues that to knowledge we should add temperance; to temperance, patience; to patience, godliness; to godliness, brotherly kindness; to brotherly kindness, charity. He sums it up with this promise in II Peter 1:10: “Wherefore, the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” I personally believe this Scripture indicates that we did not initially have these things, but we are going to add to what we do have……..which is faith.
Finding balance is about finding order, planning well, and then executing the plan. And, yes, even handling emergencies that occur frequently. A balanced person has a plan and knows where they’re going. They do not just beat the air but works faithfully each day at keeping their priorities. Our priorities should include God being first, and then prioritizing family, time for self, others, responsibilities, jobs, etc. They plan their work; then they work their plan! The most obvious is; a constant relationship with Jesus Christ is essential for any person to be balanced. As our first priority, this colors everything else we do. We should find time each day to spend moments in prayer with the One who calms spirits, who heals broken hearts, who gives inspiration, direction, and strength for the tasks that await us. Praise God! Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteous, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Each of us has the same amount of time. It is how we spend our time that makes the difference. We need to be good stewards of our time. Everymorning after prayer I take a moment to write down what I feel is the highest priorities in my life for the day; then I seek God on how to fulfill each item on my list. You see, stress is a part of each of our lives. It is very real. If you’ll notice, stress has a familiar pattern: worry, strain, and nervous tension accompanied with a frenzy of rush and hurry. It is a feeling of having too much to do, too many problems, feeling driven and distraught. Stress causes us to become mentally and emotionally upset. We are out of balance! Handling stress is finding balance in our life. Guess what? Jesus gave the secret over two thousand years ago in Matthew 6:25-26, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” I believe the Lord is saying, “Don’t worry or be full of anxiety. RELAX! Let Me help you with the unknown and with the cares of life.”
Listen, people can be demanding of us. Schedules become jammed, tension becomes the norm, and we take on too much with too little time to do it. Many of us are “givers.” We give and give, even when our strength is depleted and we feel drained. We just keep saying, “Yes, I’ll do it,” all the while our spirit is crying out for some rest. How do we say no? It is very simple. JUST SAY NO! CHOOSE this day to seek God first, and I promise He will help you as you listen quietly to the great plans He has for your life. He will teach you how to balance all things well!
Let’s pray: “Heavenly Father, help me each day to have balance in my life. When I allow life’s activities, stresses, and worries to get me off balance, may I hear Your gentle voice reminding me of what is most important. Let me never forget that my relationship with You is my first priority. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen!”
One Simple Nugget: “Focus on being productive instead of busy!”
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