Proverbs 11:1 says, A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight.
When my children were learning how to walk, they were off-balance and would fall several times. As they became stronger in their legs and became more stable, they gained much better balance. The more and more they tried to walk, the better they became at walking. We would help them as they were learning to walk by holding their hands. This gave them the benefit of needed support as we helped them not to fall.
The Bible says in Isaiah 41:13, For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Even we as adults can become off-balance in our physical lives. If something is off in our health, we can become sick. I know from personal experience that if I do not get enough rest, my body suffers. It is easier to become sick because my immune system grows out of balance. If I do not eat well, I do not feel well. This is all easy to understand but not as easy to listen to and to heed. As ladies, it is in our nature to try to juggle many things from day to day, but eventually we can suffer from a burnout if we do not take care of our physical selves. We need balance in our lives.
As Christians, we also can become out of balance spiritually. The Bible says in Matthew 6:33, But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Proverbs 8:17 says, I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. We are to seek God first. When we do not seek Him first, we are already off-balance. When we do not start the day with God, we are more prone to fall down.
I have tried to make it a habit in my own life to seek God first. Even if it is just by quickly saying, “Thank you, Lord, for another day to serve You,” I get ahold of God first thing in the morning as I get my morning coffee. As I open my Bible to Proverbs, I often ask, “Lord, what do You have for me today?”
How easy it is to get off-balance! We so effortlessly think, “Well, I will read my Bible as soon as the laundry is folded, the dishes are washed, the kids are asleep, and the movie is over.” We are pros at making excuses, aren’t we? Unconfessed sin can also keep us from having a balance. Our spirits suffer. Our attitudes toward our spouses, our children, or our friends change. The Bible says, A false balance is abomination… When we trust in ourselves and say, “I have got this all together,” that is not true. We must let God hold our right hands and help us to keep balanced so that we do not fall down flat on our faces.
The last part of Proverbs 11:1 says, …but a just weight is his delight. There is hope for us! We can have a balance, and we can have victory in our lives. If we put the Lord first and allow Him to control the things that we cannot control, we can have balance. Just as children who are learning to walk are trusting the parents to help them, we also should trust our Heavenly Father to hold our hands and to help us become more balanced in our Christian lives. If we seek the Lord first and just trust Him, He will not let us fall!
by Mandy Harper
