I enjoyed playing sports and exercising growing up and still enjoy being active and fit today. Pushups and sit ups are a regular part of my physical training and routine. But just over a year ago, I started having neck pain and numbness at the tips of my fingers on my right hand. It was very bothersome. What’s worse? The pain increased at night when I tried going to sleep, mainly because I was a stomach sleeper. Laying my head on the pillow at night in a sideways position put tension on my neck, which intensified the numbness and pain. This situation was very frustrating and worrisome, so I ended up going to a chiropractor. It provided temporary relief, but over time, my symptoms came back. No matter how much I stretched and worked out, nothing seemed to help. I felt defeated. 

Then one day I was watching a fitness video on YouTube about the importance of having a well-balanced workout routine, especially when working out chest and back. A lightbulb turned on inside of my head. “Could it be that I was only developing one portion of my body while another part suffered?,” I thought to myself. I realized I had been doing lots of chest exercises week after week, but was not compensating the chest workout with an upper back one. So naturally all the muscles in my chest area were causing my shoulders and neck to bend forward and put unnecessary strain on my neck. By starting to add upper back exercises into my weekly exercise routine, the pain and symptoms went away! I came to the understanding that our bodies are delicate and need well-balanced exercise routines if they are going to function at their peak performance. 

Well, the same is true with all aspects of our lives. God created us to have balance no matter how many things we have going on at any given time or season of life we are in. So how do we accomplish this perfect harmony? How do we make sure we are spending the limited time and resources we have on things that matter most? That matter to God? 

The key to living a well-balanced life is to have Christ at the center of it. We need to take the time to get alone with God to seek Him and hear from Him, not us do all the talking, giving Him our wish list. Instead, a better approach is to get quiet and let Him speak to us. Not that we can’t share our honest feelings and frustrations with Him, He wants us to. But, we also give Him precedence to share truth with us. If we do, He will give us the guidance and counsel needed for us to make wise decisions and choices for any given season of life that we are in. Pay attention to His still small voice that is telling you to leave the office instead of staying for another hour or two. Pay attention to that nudge deep on the inside that is telling you not to join one more activity at church because it will mean less quality time with the family. Pay attention to that impression that is telling you to make exercise a regular part of your daily life and start eating better. Maybe it’s time to start leading a small group or join one for that matter. Or maybe it’s time to step out and start writing a book you’ve always wanted to, but because you’ve been so “busy” with all the activities you have going on, the one thing you know God has asked you to do is being crowed out by none essentials. 

The scripture says, “Be sober, well balanced and self-disciplined, be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, fiercely hungry, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8 AMP).” One big trick of the Enemy is to get us out of balance. When he can do that, he can keep us distracted from accomplishing the purpose and mission God put us on the earth for. As we seek God and place Him first in our lives, God will help us discern what activities to be part of and which ones we should eliminate. They may even be good things, but they are not God’s “best” for us. He can give us inside information – information that is crucial to making good business deals that will launch us further down the road than we could have ever done on our own. This happened with Jesus and his disciples. 

After Jesus had risen from the dead, His disciples went fishing out on the Lake of Galilee. They were expert fishermen; they knew all the spots where the fish would be. They had been fishing their entire lives! And they also knew the optimal times when to catch fish. In other words, this wasn’t their first rodeo. But despite all their wealth of knowledge and experience, they labored all night and caught nothing. Early the next morning, while they were still out on the water, they heard a man yelling from the shore, “Cast your nets on the right side of the boat.” I’m sure they were like, “Who does this man think he is? We are the experts. We do this for a living.” I’m sure, with a little hesitation, they cast their net on the other side of the boat. To their amazement, they caught so many fish it almost sank the boat. Then they recognized it was Jesus. 

What I love about this story is the fact that these experts put forth a lot of energy, but had little results to show for it. Yet the moment they listened to Jesus’ voice and obeyed him, they caught so many fish that it almost sank the boat. What this tells me is that we can be busy “doing” for God and exhaust ourselves, leaving us feeling frustrated and burnt out. But, we also have a choice to be still and listen to the Master’s voice and produce lasting fruit without overexerting ourselves. This is the life that God has called all of us to live – a Spirit led life…a life of overflow, of great fruit, of healthy, lasting relationships and much more. And this is possible when Christ is at the center of our lives and we let Him teach us how to spend our time and energy each day. When we look to him for guidance and counsel, He will give us the wisdom and insight needed to live in balance in every area. After all, He knows the end from the beginning. He knows every pitfall, every road block and every danger. He also knows the path to your God-given destiny, the path in which you were born to excel and thrive in. 

Take some time this week to inventory everything you have going on. Pray and ask God to help reveal areas that may need tweaked or eliminated so that you can begin to flourish. It might not feel good to your flesh, but when we respond the right way to God when He is tugging at our heart, He will ultimately help us live out the most rewarding life possible. And we will look back over the course of our journey and stand in awe of what God has done.