Finding Balance

There are several wellness blogs as well as a host of personal development seminars, books, psychological theories and wellness-exercises with the goal of getting you to live in peace and harmony every day of your life.  Years ago, I was a participant in a wonderful seminar that helped me identify some baggage in my life that was preventing me from achieving greater things and finding that peace that comes from a balanced life.  The best gift from that secular-based seminar, however, was a realization of the God-shaped hole in my life and an intense desire to fill it.

He works ALL things for our good. (Romans 8:28) 😊 Even attending a seminar that told me I could achieve Peace of Mind by balancing these 4 things:

1. MENTAL (My relationship with money and career)
2. PHYSICAL (Exercise and nutrition, duh.)
3. EMOTIONAL (Relationships with others, my chosen attitude, and communication effectiveness)
4. SPIRITUALITY (My contribution to ‘The Universe’ or Service or Vision or Legacy)

One of my strengths is seeing the world as a ‘system’… identifying cause and effect and seeing the relationships between things.  I could see the sense of trying to balance the details described in the first three categories, but that fourth category, as it was described in detail, didn’t make sense.

After some God-focused time, I went back to this concept and reworked it as The Four F’s:

1. FINANCE (Figure out your worldly responsibilities Matthew 6:21)
2. FITNESS (Exercise and nutrition. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
3. FRIENDS/FAMILY (Genesis 2:18 “It is not good for the man to be alone”)
4. FAITH (Deuteronomy 6:45b “You shall love the Lord your God with all of your Heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”)

I shared this little gem with several people who agreed, ‘Yeah, this is good!’   Now all I needed was the goal setting and a set of tracking and measuring tools and the book would write itself.  But first the artwork for the cover was needed.  Every good system needs a visual.  There should be a picture, a diagram, that can easily be visualized to help guide the reader. I didn’t have one.

I struggled with any model or symbol, that could accurately portray how FAITH should fit with the other 3 F’s.  Clearly, the 4^th F supersedes the other three. There is NO drawing that can accurately portray the immeasurable… the infinite… the evolving.  You run out of ink or out of paper first.

Fast-forward a few years and I have a new model for Finding Peace through a Balanced Life.

It is not my model, it’s His. (James 2:26)

At this point in my journey, I can marvel at the brilliance of the simplicity of this model. If you are not living in peace, there is an imbalance in your life – relative to this model.  You either need to know more about God or you need to be practicing what you do know about God.

 Seeking God:  I pray that everyone I’ve ever met, loved, and cared about would consider the following:  It’s all about Creation.  Every man must answer for himself his belief about creation.

• A true Atheist has already explored the question of creation and cannot or will not accept the Supernatural.
• A false Atheist believes someone else’s conclusion, without having explored the question themselves. [I don’t understand this group, not when it is possible that eternal salvation is on the line. If you haven’t explored your belief in God by yourself, you should not label yourself anything. Otherwise, ‘False Witness’, may be the appropriate label.]
• An Agnostic is someone who feels they have adequately answered the creation question by saying the answer is probably unknowable and therefore not worth pursuing. [This is a lazy man’s answer. Again, if eternal salvation is on the line, it’s worth pursuing.]
• A Christian is a person who, when called by God, begins a journey of reexamining and perhaps, casting off little pieces of everything they’ve ever known and felt comfortable with in this world. That God created mankind and mountains, manatees and magnolia trees, monkeys and mice, is a given.

The Creation Question is not an issue for a Christian because there is a Creation Story that is far too interesting to overlook.  This story points to God’s design for mankind, man’s fall, and God’s plan to redeem his creation.

The new Christian comes with baggage: shame, regret, remorse, and other heavy burdens that cannot be removed without supernatural power.   That supernatural power is of course, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  It could not be any other way. And suddenly, God’s plan makes sense.

The more this new Christian seeks God, the more ‘Peace’ that he finds. The more this Christian knows of God, the more he trusts in Him.

Serving God: Once the supernatural is accepted, the concept of spiritual warfare becomes a reality. But remember, everyone must practice before they are comfortable with anything that is new.

• A Christian who feels at peace one moment will in the next begin to doubt his worthiness to even have such a faith. That wonderful and awesome feeling of peace, trust, and love, will be tested. Take courage, keep your faith, Jesus was tested, too!
• Pray! Talk with God a lot. Pray in the morning, in the afternoon, before bedtime. Tell Him your concerns. Ask Him questions. Ask Him for guidance. Ask for wisdom. Ask for Peace.  Thank Him for another day. Thank Him for answers… for guidance… for wisdom… for peace. (Matthew 7:7)
• Read His Word daily to allow Him to speak to you directly. Pray for clarity.
• Involve Him in all you do. (1 Corinthians 10:31) All your activities should be done with integrity and honesty, to bring Him glory.
• Man was not meant to be alone. There are other people in your life, on purpose!  Some of these people you know and some you don’t. Love them. (John 13:34) A Christian is a channel through which God’s love flows to others. The light in your eyes, the smile on your face, the presence of His peace are all outward signs and invitations to others to accept God’s grace. You can serve God with a smile.

Our spiritual growth and understanding increases as we spend time with God and allow him to transform us into the new creations He desires.

In all circumstances, if you can remember to ask yourself, “What Would Jesus Do?” you’ve won half the battle.  If you can answer the question, you’ve won the other half!  (See how this balance, works? 😊)