212/365: Life In Balance

And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Fools fold their hands and ruin themselves. Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind. ~ Ecclesiastes 4: 4-6

God gave men the curse of working the soil by the sweat of our brow. It's our duty to work for our food, our well-being, and our livlihood.

However, work was never designed to be our god. Work was given to remind us of God's dominion. Our work is for us to use as a blessing for ourselves and for others.

As you put your hands to the wheel (in whatever your endeavor), remember to pursue balance. Work is a teacher that reveals our blessings and how to be a blessing.

GO DEEPER: Colossians 3: 23-25

Next Step: Consider this... are your work, family, and friends priortites in balance?

Rocky Rampulla

on 08/01/2023 at 01:47 AM

I struggle every day only to fail. I let my work frustrate me and get in the way of who the Lord wants me to be. I will continue to pray and seek the Lord for answers.

Kevin Miller

on 07/31/2023 at 05:08 PM

I’ve had issues with this myself. I spent much time working and working. Balance is so important. I continue to work on this.

Ashley Jarvis

on 07/31/2023 at 03:45 PM

As I type this I’m sitting in my home office, 3 stories up looking out over my gorgeous 4 acres… watched the dogs as they chased deer this morning, thinking to myself how grateful I am to have had these past couple years to truly appreciate the beauty of this place, now that it’s come time to sell it and move on, and get “right sized”. I pursued many things before my collapse, and attained much wealth, but the one thing I could never reach was peace or balance. None of the things I possessed brought me an ounce of peace, this house felt like a prison for years, chained to the payment and constant feeling of not deserving any of it… imposter syndrome. My surrender to God came at the perfect time, His timing is always perfect, while I’m still in the same industry I now run my business with a different compass, one that points only to God’s glory, and to be of service to others at every opportunity. It’s barely profitable, and feels amazing each day. The clients who hire me today, have each been essential to my spiritual growth, every single one, including the most toxic client I’ve ever worked with… she taught me more about restraint and value of serenity through prayer than every client combined nearly. God, I’m so grateful for this new life in service to your children, thank you for the opportunity to serve 🙏🏻

Elliott

on 07/31/2023 at 02:56 PM

Good morning, brothers @ Matthew Brown, I do the same thing. Also, I noticed my days were getting more and more stressful. I know what I need to do... I'm walking by sight and not by faith. So I know what the problem is. And how to fix it, but I just talk to talk, and don't even come close to taking action. Faith without works is dead!

Matthew Brown

on 07/31/2023 at 02:34 PM

From my understanding it was the ground that was cursed not work. Work is a blessing, even hard physical work. I don’t have a big house or a brand new truck, or the huge debt that goes along with that, and I work hard five days a week doing work that I really enjoy. I do have everything I need and a few things for my family to enjoy together that we have been blessed with. Weekends are for family and friends. The area I am unbalanced in is my time with God. I used to spend at least an hour every morning and then extra time on the weekends reading, praying and praising God but for awhile now all I have done is read the devotional on here, skim through the prayer wall and get on with my day. I really need to get things balanced again

Tyler

on 07/31/2023 at 02:21 PM

This is something I’ve been struggling with. With starting a business 4 years ago, it seems this year I’ve been working 6-7 days a week to keep everything rolling. It is such a blessing but I know I need to be more involved and present with God, my family and my friends when I am not working. Please God help me to keep my eyes on you and to stay present in the moment.

EthanRogers

on 07/31/2023 at 02:20 PM

I used to work at my own business. 18 hours a day, at least 6 days a week. This did not seem to bother me, However, because it was mine, it was my baby. It was what I was investing my life in for my family's future. I neglected my elderly mother. Who lived in the same town as me. I spent my vacation at the shop. I regret all this now, for it is all gone and all the wealth that I invested as well. A valuable lesson I have learned. My mother has passed on. All my business assets, all the clients, and even my standing in the community have vaporized into thin air. I missed important events in life. Now I have to work hard now to keep my head above water. I should be retired, and this business should be running and paying for my retirement and vacations. God allowed me to be humbled. To learn what is truly priceless in life. I thought I ran some stuff. I was big dog. I had it all figured out. I was blind. I was cocky. Wishing I could do it all over. Balance is key. I have no choice but work arduously when before I had the option to do whatever I wanted. I see today that balance would have saved my sanity and helped create peace in my soul. We always have to learn the hard way. It seems disingenuous now to say that I would have first seek God's kingdom, and all will be added unto. If I had only known. I was selfish and greedy. I did it for me, not for my family. Thank You, Lord, for humbling me enough to realize priorities, and teaching me how to live valiantly.In Jesname.

Boyce Moses

on 07/31/2023 at 02:00 PM

While working allows us to live comfortably and retire and be comfortable, it isn’t our God and we must keep God in His rightful place all through our working career. God gives us the blessings of the good job and the pay so we can bless others with our gain. Through it all, God must be in the most important place in our life. Love you Jesus! 💚💜💙❤️

Brandon Pembleton

on 07/31/2023 at 01:53 PM

That verse speaks to me and reminds me of what I see everywhere in the world today. So many people running around buried in debt to appear a certain way to other people forgetting God has no care for how much stuff a person has or what brand it is. Folks buried in debt and miserably locked to their job or else the banks will reclaim all of those debt items. I’ve been in this loop before. It was not a fun time digging completely out of the debt traps but man was it worth it. Is it all in perfect balance now? No but it serves a purpose greater than me getting rich or something trivial like that. A conversation I had with a successful property owner shined a nice light on it. Of course I asked about the wealth part and he laughed. He said you’ll burn out faster than a campfire if you build out rentals and airbnbs just for that. He said look at what they provide for others. Think about all the folks who can’t get a home loan and are great folks. Think about the large family that can’t find accommodations when they travel. Do it all to be of service to them for God and the energy will flow. And you’ll have real success that is helpful to others. That’s the goal with work to me is be helpful to others and be a resource not a greedy liability. Thank you God for showing me that view so my ambitions are aligned with Your word and wisdom. I am truly blessed to believe this and trust in it completely. I love you God amen 🙏

michael f vinning

on 07/31/2023 at 12:56 PM

No they are not in balance-work and family are sharing equally but my friends get left-overs and most days there isn’t anything left over in my tank so I’ll go days without contact. Jesus please help me find a balance between the 3 groups all the while keeping you first, as my top priority! In Jesus name Amen!

212/365: Life In Balance

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