Now is the time... To Keep Your Balance

Surely the righteous will never be shaken. Psalm 112:6

Tonight I watched as two Miner birds landed on a fragile branch where Mr Kookaburra sat surveying the late afternoon scene, no doubt hoping to spot a juicy meal in the grass below. He was totally minding his own business and I’m not sure that the intruders were at all welcome. As the branch shook with their careless and noisy arrival Mr K gave them a brief glance then totally ignored them and held tight to his perch. The visitors soon flew off to annoy other neighbours.

This little incident made me ponder the circumstances of life; the people that cross our path, unwelcome circumstances that come our way like sickness, loss of employment, family problems, even difficult people. All these things can “shake our branch”. In the current economic climate it can be very easy to get distracted, fearful and nervous. It can be so easy to lose our ‘balance’ on the branch of life if we allow such things to become our focus. The secret is to take a firm foothold of faith in our good and faithful God; to stand in faith that “The LORD will work out his plans for my life-- for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever." Psalm 138:8.

I cannot over stress the importance of knowing God’s word. The psalmist spoke of hiding God’s word in his heart that he might not sin against God (Psalm 119:11). This is the secret of keeping our balance. God wants us to walk in faith and trust in him. To do otherwise is actually to sin against him. Yes, we do have times when we are thrown off balance but it is vital when that happens to focus on the truth of God’s word and allow it to keep us balanced. Like Mr Kookaburra we can glance at the distraction but we must immediately focus back on God’s promises. Psalm 112 verse 7 tells us that “those who trust the Lord have no fear of bad news.” Why? “Because their heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” How good is that?

Satan, our enemy will try to distract us and tempt us to fear but the word says to resist the enemy and he will flee from you (James 4:7). Just like those Miner birds that got no attention from Mr K and flew right off to find someone who would socialize, the devil will flee when you ignore his taunts and give your attention and praise to God.

To get to that place of security and trust takes time. It takes time to know God and grow in our confidence and faith in his faithfulness. It takes time in the word daily and a determination to believe God’s word. The result of doing this will be a wonderful peace in the midst of any storm, no matter how big or small. This is our testimony to those who don’t know Jesus Christ – we have no fear because we are trusting in the Lord. Hallelujah!

Prayer: Faithful Father, thank you that your word is true and a stronghold for me in any time of trouble. Help me to store your word in my heart and grow in love and trust in you which will help me keep my balance in life’s storms. Amen