Can a Person Have Balance without God?

It was 2:08 p.m. when I was sitting at my office desk thinking about all the things that I still had to do. I’ll have to pick my son up at four o’clock—I thought to myself—drive 15 miles home in back-to-back traffic, cook dinner, spend some quality time with my son, wash some clothes, check on the home-based business, grace my husband with my presence at the dinner table (just kidding), prepare for the next day, and so on.

My brief moment of introspection earlier today confirmed for me why I believe so much in the process of balancing blessings and obtaining order. In addition, what God had already put on my heart was reaffirmed in an article on CNN online; that grabbed my attention immediately as I sifted through the day’s online news. The news feed apparently had come from Oprah.com, but originated from the April 2008 edition of The Oprah Magazine. It had the title: Unbalanced life and the Subtitle: You've got 2 billion things to do today, so don't worry about balance.

“In defense of an unbalanced life,” author and life coach, Martha Beck is essentially tells women that impossible demands have been place on them, and if they could see that, they could be free to live unbalanced lives. She wrote, “That's the wonderful thing about seeing that our society makes impossible demands on all women. You free yourself to ignore social pressures and begin creating a life that comes from your own deepest desires, hopes and dreams. You'll stop living life from the outside in and begin living it from the inside out.”

After having read the article, and having written a book on balance, I had to ask myself, “Can a person truly have balance without God?” For me the answer was an absolute “no,” because I believe balance and order comes from the grace and presence of God in one’s life on a daily basis.

With that said, how then do you explain the fact that there are unsaved woman out there who are able to maintain some semblance of balance and order in their daily lives?

We all understand that no one is perfect, but I am sure organizational training, a good support system, and their environment plays a key role in their daily success at maintaining a reasonable level of balance. But what’s missing is spiritual guidance—that wisdom and insight that only God can provide. As Christian women, our daily fellowship with God should provide guidance for our day. I don’t know about you, but I am not God; and from personal experience—and I do mean from personal experience—I can tell you, “if God isn’t in it, any effort on our part to achieve balance and order is futile.” Even Martha herself had to admit: “I conducted years of sociological research on the topic [of balance], wrote a big fat book about it. Plus, I'm a life coach. You'd think I could live a balanced life as a 21st-century American woman.”

My dear sister in Christ, everything that we put on our to-do list, is not necessary everything God wants on our to-do list. Let Him be your counselor. He is a wonderful counselor, and when you align your to-do list with God’s to-do list for you, God will provide "the balance, the creativity, the flow, the joy, the order, the vision, the love, and the grace. Having these things is not only a blessing from above; it is a by-product of being obedient to God."

Your Call to Order
Pray and ask God to help you get some semblance of balance and order in your daily life… He may be calling you to simplify your life, to re-evaluate your priorities, to get outside help; however, he is definitely calling you to seek Him.

Power Verses (from the New King James Version)

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God “(Philippians 4:6).

References:

CNN, “Unbalanced life,” http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/04/15/o.balance
/index.html , (accessed April 17, 2006)

Sandra Miller, Balancing Blessings™ and Obtaining Order (ByB e-Publishers, 2008).