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We hear a lot about finding balance in our lives, especially those of us who are working women. And for Christian working women, we have a completely different yardstick by which to measure the balance of our lives, because we have—or should have—an eternal perspective: What matters for eternity?
Our dilemma is: How do we know what a balanced life is—and how do we find it? Which of these statements would you say are true? Your life is in balance when:
◊ You accomplish everything we plan to do each day.
◊ You are able to meet all the expectations others have of you.
◊ You never feel pressured or frazzled.
◊ You never have to say “no” to anyone.
◊ You can juggle many balls in the air at the same time.
◊ You are very good at multi-tasking.
Are these the signs of a balanced life? No, not necessarily. We need a biblical perspective of what it means to live a balanced life. So, let’s begin by asking the question: Why am I here?
Why Am I Here?
If you are a Christ-follower, you are here to do the good works he has planned for you to do:
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
You are not to be lazy; you are not here to please yourself; you are to be about the Father’s business. God does not exist to make us happy and fulfilled and solve all our problems. We belong to him, and we are here to do what he planned for us to do.
In the last decades we’ve been programmed to believe that we deserve to have what we want. Well, God’s Word certainly affirms that each individual is special to God, created in his image, and loved by him. But we are not here to be doted upon and fussed over. We are here to do good works.
When you get outside of that parameter, then you’re in trouble. Here are some of the reasons you can get outside of God’s plan for your life:
- You start “doing your own thing.”
- You plan your life and ask God to bless it instead of seeking to know and do his plan.
- You try to do your good works and some others as well.
- You fail to seek God’s will.
- You allow others to dictate what we should do and be.
If you want to live the kind of balanced life that will count for eternity, you have to be intentional about doing it.