If you are on Facebook, or even if you are just out and about, you have probably noticed that we live in a very “me” oriented world. It’s very easy to get there. We worry about what we look like, and what we wear, we encourage our children and grandchildren to believe they are absolutely perfect and without fault. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these things in themselves. It’s when the world begins to revolve around what you look like or what you wear or when your children and grandchildren begin to care about nothing but themselves, feeling no accountability or responsibility for what they do, that it becomes a problem.
What if, just for today, we focus on God, our neighbor, the widow that you met who has no family and is all alone, or the grandparents who are raising their grandchildren with no help from the parents? What if, just for today, we focus on helping these people, even if it’s just a kind word or a hug. What if we take the kids to a food pantry or soup kitchen and let them help serve others. Maybe, by taking the focus off of “me”, we will find our life becoming more satisfying and balanced, therefore accomplishing the true happiness we could never find with our previous mindset!
God is so GOOD! He knows our needs, even better than we do and He has a plan. This is a brand new year and today is a brand new day, a fresh start. It’s a blank slate, what will you do with it to make it count?
“No matter what you’re going to face this next week, you’re not going to face it alone. God is with you, he is in you, and he is for you.”
– Rick Warren
Pray Unceasingly!
In His light,
Lois
The Key to a Balanced Life: Jesus
By Rick Warren
“Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.” (Matthew 6:33 NCV)
If you want to live a truly balanced life, you can only look at one person in all of history as a model: Jesus. If you put him at the center of your life, your life will be more balanced.
Think of your life like a wheel. The center of the wheel is a hub. All of the spokes of your life (which represent your relationships, your family, your career, your goals, etc.) come from that hub. We all build our lives around some sort of hub. The question is, what will be your hub? Will it be your family? Will it be your career? Will it be money?
Or will it be Jesus?
How do you know what you’re building your life around? Take a look at whatever you think about the most. That’s what is driving you.
The center of your life is critical to developing a balanced life. A solid center leads to a solid life. A weak, flimsy center leads to a weak life. When I hear people tell me that their lives are coming unglued, it usually means one thing: They have a faulty center. Something other than God has taken priority in their lives.
Not only does the hub create stability, but it also controls and influences everything else about your life. Whatever you put at the center of your life will also be your source of power. The power of a wheel always emanates from the center outward — never the other way around.
Make Jesus the center of your life, and he’ll provide the stability, control, and power you need for your life. The Bible says, “Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well” (Matthew 6:33 NCV).
Don’t worry about making Jesus first in your life. Put him in the center of your life. Let him direct your life, influence it, empower it, and give it stability.
Do that and all the other areas of your life — from your family to your career to your goals — will find balance in Jesus.