Life in Balance

I’m thankful that God overrules some of my prayers. Imagine, for example, what would happen in a family where parents gave their children everything they wanted. The kids want hot fudge sundaes for dinner and demand everything at the toy store. Whatever they want, their parents give it to them.

What those parents will end up raising are spoiled, undisciplined, hyperactive brats. And they will live to regret it because their children never will move out of the house. Parents need to teach their children responsibility, including how to work for things and how to save.

God knows what is good for us as His children. He knows what we need, and He also knows what we don’t need.

A Christian might pray, “Lord, I want to be incredibly wealthy. I want to be as wealthy as Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. Give me billions of dollars.”

For some people, probably most even, receiving a great amount of money could be the worst thing ever to happen to them. It would come with a lot of responsibility as well as a lot of temptation they may not be facing right now.

The apostle Paul wrote, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NLT).

Notice Paul said that God would supply all your needs—not all your greed or even all your wants or desires.

The writer of Proverbs 30 prayed, “Give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name” (verses 8–9 NLT).

In other words, “Lord, don’t give me so much that I would forget about You. But don’t give me so little that I would feel that You had forgotten about me. Give me as much as You think is right. I leave it in Your hands. I just want Your will for my life.”

We can go through life saying, “I need this” and “What about my needs?” Or, we can say, “God has blessed me. He has provided for me. I had a meal this morning. I have clothes on my back and a roof over my head. What can I do for someone else?”

When we start thinking of others instead of ourselves, one day, we will wake up and realize that we’re happy. But it won’t be the result of chasing after the things we thought would fulfill us. Rather, it will be the result of having our priorities in order.

If only we would do things God’s way. Then we would be able to say, like Paul, “I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little” (Philippians 4:12 NLT).

If we have our lives in balance, we can be confident that God will provide.

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