Have you ever felt as if your walking on life’s tightrope? As if the slightest gentle breeze could cause you to fall.

Sometimes it feels as if life itself is sucking the life out of you instead of filling you with joy and gratefulness. You give until you can’t give anymore, and you’re missing out on truly living. You understand there should be more but don’t know how to find it.

You’re not alone! But I have good news; there is a solution. 

All you need is balance.

Balance Required

Life requires balance to feel whole and accomplished. Balanced nutrition and fitness, work-life balance, balanced relationships, and spiritual balance are necessary to maintain a well-rounded existence and keep our sanity.

Indeed, balance is a necessity. So how exactly do you achieve complete life balance? Let’s explore the area I mentioned above. 

There’s quite a bit to cover here, so I’ll break this information into multiple posts. 

In today’s post, we’ll discuss values and explore spiritual balance. 

Shall we dive in?

Our Values

The fact is, we place priorities on the things we cherish most. The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:21 what we value is a direct reflection of our hearts.

Sometimes, however, our hearts point us astray, and our values become distorted, leading us to be overcome with desires for earthly treasures. 

When this happens, slowly but surely, we begin to overlook what matters most. 

It may begin by skipping our prayer time, thinking we’ll do it later. We might miss a ball game or dance recital to work a little later. Possibly we’ll tell a friend we aren’t able to meet for lunch because we have too much work to do.

Before we know it, we’re kissing our loved ones on the checks while they’re sleeping, feeling alone because we’re too busy to engage, and tossing up quick-fix prayers to God, hoping He’ll catch them. 

When we find ourselves making tons of excuses and unable to prioritize our families, friends, and ourselves, we need to rebalance our values.  

The process of realigning our values and achieving complete life balance begins with the spirit. 

Spiritual Balance

To achieve a truly fulfilled existence, I believe spiritual balance is the most crucial piece of the puzzle. Yet, it’s often the last area we choose to address.

Prioritizing time with the Father is the best approach to centering ourselves. When our spiritual lives are in balance, everything else will become balanced, too.  

Having spiritual balance doesn’t mean our lives will be perfect, but it will help us have a peaceful soul. And although we may not always understand our circumstances, we’ll find ourselves trusting God to carry us through whatever happens. 

Because Jesus is the perfect role model, we’ll be looking into His life throughout this series. 

Time to Recenter

In Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus shows us the importance of taking time for prayer and meditation and trusting God’s calling for our lives.

Let’s take a quick journey to Gethsemane with Jesus and the disciples right before His arrest and crucifixion. 

Jesus was heavy with burden. He knew he was about to complete His mission to lay down His life and suffer a brutal death on a cross for the sins of all mankind. 

Keep in mind, although He was fully God, He was also fully man. (Philippians 2:6-7) His heart was breaking, and I would imagine He was scared. He needed some time alone with God to battle through what was about to happen to His human body. To find His center; to rebalance.

Matthew 26:36-46

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Carry On

Read on in the scriptures. You will see that Jesus wasn’t delivered from His crucifixion. His time with God didn’t change His circumstances. Yet He found the strength and courage to carry out His mission. 

The events at Gethsemane are just one of many stories from the Bible telling of times Jesus chose solitude. 

The examples Jesus set before us should reveal how vital spiritual balance truly is. May we not overlook our need to spend time alone with God. 

Dive Deeper

Here are five additional passages for you to explore that tell of Jesus spending time alone. Take some time to dive deeper, if you wish. 

• To prepare for a major task: Luke 4:1-15
• To recharge after hard work: Mark 6:30-31
• To work through grief: Matthew 14:1-13
• Before making an important decision: Luke 6:12-13
• To focus on prayer: Luke 5:16

Coming Up Next

In the next portion of this series, we’ll examine relationship balance. I hope to see you there! 

Contact Lana

Have a private or personal question for Lana? Click Here