How Do I Balance it All?

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In our lives as Christians, it seems that there are so many things on which to focus.  Read scripture, nurture relationships, share the gospel, be patient, be kind … and on and on the list goes.  When we focus on one thing, like patience, we lose sight of many other issues and create a dozen more things on which to focus.  It’s a lifelong battle to juggle everything.

Obviously, balance is necessary for a healthy life.  But how can we possibly focus on everything at once – every character quality in which we need to grow – and not lose sight of some other thing that requires our attention?  How do we find a balance?

Eastern religions and the New Age movement will tell you that the key to balance is essentially escaping life, be it escaping the bounds of reason, culture, or social relationships.  But in reality, we are not meant to escape life.  We are to be in the world, not separated from it – and yet still achieve this balance.

Our biggest obstacle in trying to achieve balance is, well, trying to achieve balance.

If we try to juggle every issue in our lives, we will end up dropping the ball in every area.  The truth is that achieving balance is outright impossible for us broken humans.

When we understand that balance is an impossible feat for humanity, we come to realize that there can be only one source of balance: Christ.

We tend to have the wrong approach to our relationship with the Lord.  We focus on the small things – our character, works, etc. – and think that those things will bring us closer to the Lord.  However, our focus should first be on the Lord, and everything else will come as a natural result (cf. Matthew 6:33).  

That is, after all, what the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23) means.  It’s the natural result of walking in the Spirit.

So how do we find balance in life? Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ alone.

We must stop trying to juggle everything in our lives, because we are utterly incapable.  Instead, our focus must be entirely on Christ.  When we make Him our sole pursuit, following His lead, we will find that all the things on which we used to focus will come naturally (cf. Psalm 37:4).