The Key Word: Balance

"these things I have spoken unto you,
        that in ME ye might have peace.
                In the world ye shall have tribulation:
   but be of GOOD cheer,
    I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD."
                                             John 16:33

On Sunday I wrote about the week I had experienced. I spoke about how rejoicing can quickly become boasting and how that is a fine line to walk. While speaking with Mike we began looking back beyond the past week.

Over the course of the last year it has been a whirlwind of experiences. The one thing I learned, and found out that Mike was experiencing the same, was that I was not reading the Word enough. While we both had good intentions and no opposition to doing so, it was just difficult to get into a routine with it.

Here is one thing I know: We were not the only ones.

That is where LvL Up started. Short, daily devotionals that made sure we interacted with scripture regularly. As we talked about different things that had happened over the past year we saw how much this small act impacted everything else.

Our lives are full of valleys and mountain tops. Maybe you prefer the roller coaster description. Regardless, the joy of the peaks is often off the charts, but the bottom of the dips can be unbearable. What has become clear is this:

When we have that relationship, or BALANCE, in our lives it becomes easier not to go zero to sixty from one end of the spectrum to the other. You may not believe me, but it is the truth.

In another of my posts I spoke of how I worry. I see the worst case scenario right away. Lately though, while the worry may still be there, it does not take over in the same way that it once did. The reason is that daily one of my very first thoughts is about my devotional reading. That reading and discussion with my brothers helps to strengthen that relationship that Jesus has desired, but I struggled to nurture.

If you find yourself rising and crashing like the tides and it all feels out of control...find your balance.

You will be surprised that it doesn't take as much as you may be telling yourself. God is not looking for us to be perfect. He has Jesus for that. He is simply asking that we are making the effort. He will bless that effort. If He didn't then we would not be here. I would not be in a place to write these words.

The world tells you that you are undeserving. It tries to prove that to you. There is one however who says you are His. When you are His the world may hate you, but there is nothing that it can do about it. Walk firmly in that. The highs and lows begin to even out. It makes the journey more enjoyable.

#LvLUp