The Key to a Balanced Life: Jesus
by Rick Warren
“Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.” (Matthew 6:33 NCV)
If you want to live a truly balanced life, you can only look at one person in all of history as a model: Jesus. If you put him at the center of your life, your life will be more balanced.
Think of your life like a wheel. The center of the wheel is a hub. All of the spokes of your life (which represent your relationships, your family, your career, your goals, etc.) come from that hub. We all build our lives around some sort of hub. The question is, what will be your hub? Will it be your family? Will it be your career? Will it be money?
Or will it be Jesus?
How do you do know what you’re building your life around? Take a look at whatever you think about the most. That’s what is driving you.
The center of your life is critical to developing a balanced life. A solid center leads to a solid life. A weak, flimsy center leads to a weak life. When I hear people tell me that their lives are coming unglued, it usually means one thing: They have a faulty center. Something other than God has taken priority in their lives.
Not only does the hub create stability, but it also controls and influences everything else about your life. Whatever you put at the center of your life will also be your source of power. The power of a wheel always emanates from the center outward — never the other way around.
Make Jesus the center of your life, and he’ll provide the stability, control, and power you need for your life. The Bible says, “Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well” (Matthew 6:33 NCV).
Don’t worry about making Jesus first in your life. Put him in the center of your life. Let him direct your life, influence it, empower it, and give it stability.
Do that and all the other areas of your life — from your family to your career to your goals — will find balance in Jesus.
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Talk It Over
- If you looked at your life as a wheel, what would be in the center?
- What are the biggest distractions for you to having a balanced life?
- What do you think is the biggest obstacle to putting Jesus at the center of your life?
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit rickwarren.org
OUR GIFT
This devotional © 2016 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can also listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.