Joyce Meyer - How Can I Find Balance In My Life? (08/21/2019)
Joyce Meyer highlights 1 Peter 5:8-9 (Amplified) as a key scripture warning believers to stay well balanced, vigilant, and sober-minded because the devil prowls like a roaring lion seeking to devour those out of balance. She emphasizes that imbalance in any area opens doors to the enemy, urging constant caution, immediate resistance at temptation's onset, and recognition that everyone faces similar struggles – so no self-pity, just firm faith and determination.
Be Well Balanced – A Key to Protection
One of the first scriptures that I remember God really speaking to my heart about is 1 Peter 5, 8 and 9 out of the Amplified Translation. And it says, Be well balanced, temperate, sober of mind. Be vigilant and cautious at all times. Let enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion, roaring in fierce hunger, seeking someone to seize upon and devour.
Well, to be honest, there's already about five messages just in that little bit. Be well balanced. Any time that we're out of balance in our life in any area, it opens up a door for the enemy.
Imbalance Invites Trouble
If you don't spend enough time with your family, you're gone too much. You're not taking the right time to sow into your relationships. It's going to open a door for the enemy, and there's going to be problems in the family.
If you are too selfish, it's going to cause problems. But if you never spend enough time on yourself, you don't take care of yourself, that's going to cause problems.
You can look at a thousand different areas and see how important balance is. And we hear a lot about eating balanced meals. So even from that, God is showing us that we need enough protein, we need enough carbs, we need enough of this, we need enough of that.
And if you just eat all sugar, you're going to be sick. If you just drink all coffee and soda and you don't drink any water, you're going to have kidney problems. We need to have balance in our lives.
Western Culture's Struggle with Balance
And yet, I think that most of us realize that Americans in particularly, and probably other cultures in the Western world, we really are bad at getting out of balance.
For example, way too many people work way too much and they don't rest enough. And then there's a lot of people who don't sleep enough. Well, that's going to cause you problems.
And so I just want you to realize that if you're out of balance in any area in your life, the enemy is going to take advantage of it.
If you talk too much, that's out of balance. But then some people don't communicate enough and so that's out of balance.
How many of you understand what I'm saying? We need balance in our life.
And balance, like people say to me a lot, how do you keep the schedule you keep and write the books and you have a family. I've got four kids, 11 grandkids, two great grandkids.
How do you, this is what they say, how do you keep your priorities straight and how do you stay in balance?
And you know what I've learned to say? I'm always straightening them out.
In other words, you don't just get in balance and stay there because the devil loves excess. He was always going to try to be excessive in one way or another.
Like you might spend too much money on yourself, but then if you don't ever spend any money on yourself, either one can cause problems.
Do a Balance Inventory Regularly
And so I think that we have to do a little balance inventory every once in a while and just take a little time, spend a little time with God and just say, am I out of balance in any area of my life?
Maybe you're watching too much television and not spending enough time in the Word. Or, you know, maybe... There's so many different things that we could think of.
And let me just suggest to you that when you get unhappy, you're having too many bad days and too many sad days and too many mad days. Just check and see if you're out of balance in some area in your life.
Because a lot of times there's just something that needs to be adjusted.
Matter of fact, I'll bet, just as I'm standing here talking about this right now, I'll bet you that there's lots of people in this room, you already... If I said, what area are you out of balance in your life? You could lift your hand up and tell me just like that.
How many of you already can think of some area? Okay. Look at that. That's almost everybody, Pastor. So...
So maybe I shouldn't even go to my second favorite scripture. Maybe I just ought to camp here the rest of the night.
You Can't Break Natural Laws
You know, no matter how much of Jesus you have in your life, you can't break his natural laws and expect everything to work out for you in your life.
I don't care how much you pray to feel good, if you're not going to rest, you're going to feel lousy. I don't care how much you pray to feel good, if you're not going to sleep, you're going to feel lousy.
I don't care how much you pray to be happy, If you don't take any time to relax and enjoy yourself and laugh and do things that you enjoy, you're not going to be happy.
So we have to stay balanced in our life. And this scripture tells me that if I don't stay balanced, I am opening a door for the enemy.
He roams about like a lion, roaring in fierce hunger, seeking someone whom he may devour. He can't devour anybody, but one person he can devour is somebody who is out of balance in their life.
And I think we ramp it up to another level when we're not only out of balance, but we know we're out of balance.
Come on, all you people who raise your hand. We're out of balance, and we know we're out of balance, and we don't do anything about it.
I can tell you for a lot of years, I worked way too hard, and I did it in Jesus' name. But I still ended up getting burnt out, and getting sick, and paying for it.
I don't care how much of Jesus you have, you still have to have balance in your life, or he's going to get in and cause you problems. Amen.
Well, that's better than your acting.
Be Vigilant at All Times – Resist at Onset
Now, it says be vigilant and cautious once in a while. No, it says at all times. At all times.
Verse 9, withstand him, be firm in faith. And this is another one of my favorite parts of this, against his onset.
I get some things out of the Amplified Translation that I'm not going to get anywhere else, and I like that.
When do I resist the devil? The minute he starts in on me. When do I resist the enemy? At his onset.
You don't wait until you've got some deep-rooted problems before you decide, oh, that's the devil, he's a liar, and I guess I better stand against him.
No, the minute the devil lies to you, you say you're a liar. However, the minute that he tempts you, that's when you say no.
We need to deal a little more violently with temptation. Instead of just saying, well, I just wish I wasn't so tempted.
Well, you can wish all you want to, but you're still going to be tempted. And so, what we need to do is get a little more violent with it.
What has Jesus said? If your eye offends, you pluck it out. If your hand offends, you cut it off.
Well, he obviously doesn't want you to pull your eye out and cut your hand off. But what he is saying is, if you're tempted to look at things you shouldn't be looking at, cut it off.
If you're tempted to do things with your hands you shouldn't be doing with them, then cut that sin off. Just deal violently with sin and say no, and do it at the enemy's onset, because the longer you let him rule in your life, the harder it's going to be to get rid of him.
Everyone Faces the Same Struggles
Rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined, knowing that the same identical sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood, the whole body of Christians throughout the world.
So, another message I get out of that is, don't sit around and feel sorry for yourself, Joyce, because you're having temptations, you're going through problems.
Everybody goes through stuff. Amen?
All right. So, get a little balance in your life, and it's going to help you.