May 15, 2015

Balance is incredibly important. It is so vital that we begin to foster truth and love. Mercy and grace. Faithfulness and justice. All of it in balance.

People, me included, have a tendency to hyper-focus on one of the above truths. It lends us to an incomplete and inaccurate gospel. 

While I was driving, the song, "Baby I'm Worth It" came on. I am a Jazzercise girl, and we workout to it, and as it does there, I caught myself singing the lyrics. But then, I stopped and got hit again with the issue of the month. BALANCE.

Balance is so incredibly crucial to us walking forward successfully holding onto our beliefs and to our convictions. What do I mean? Well let's look at the lyrics. "I'm worth it." 

It's true. I am worth it. I am all about not being my biggest enemy. But there is a lack of balance in a perpetual look at the green side. It has gotten popular in recent years to speak affirmations over yourself, and I understand the power of the spoken word. But sometimes, affirmations void of the Holy Spirit, only leave us trying to convince ourselves that the positive thing is true.

And ascribing worth to something takes an accurate scale. First I am valuable because I am made in His image. But the other side of it is one that can't be overlooked. Without His Spirit, all I am is a sinner tainted by poor decisions and a will that chooses selfish things over the holy. But then again to stay there, is inaccurate. I am worth the pure blood of the Lamb, and I can think of nothing more valuable than that. 

Sometimes, one side of the scale is stronger in our culture than the other. There were entire seasons where people in the church would fail to see the glory that lived within them. And then, there are seasons, where people attribute the glory within them, solely to themselves. Both are wrong.

We need balance. I am worth it. I am bought by Christ's blood. But, apart from Him, I may have the image of the Almighty, but all I am is a prodigal son. It's not either-or ... it both-and.

We need both truths to live in BALANCE. 

Where are you living out of balance? What can you do to find your way back to the Alpha and Omega, the Vine and the Gardener, the Lion and the Lamb?

Find balance and your peace and your effectiveness will multiply.

Bless

________, I bless your spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. I bless you with balance. I bless you with an abundance of the fruit of the Spirit. I bless you to hear the gentle convictions of the Holy Spirit when you have stepped out of balance.

Declare

I declare that I am one who honors all of who the Lord is and all of what He is working in. I will stand for Love and Mercy. I will let faithfulness and justice be markers in my life. I will extend grace and I will still speak truth. I will live in balance, just as Jesus does.