Searching For Balance

“Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial.
   “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything.
1 Corinthians 6:12


I've heard it said that 'anything is fine in moderation.' However, with most things (work, money, alcohol), there comes a point where too much becomes unhealthy.  There must be a balance in life, but I sometimes struggle finding that point of balance.  Specifically, I find it difficult to find a balance between my desires and God's will.  It is healthy to have goals and aspirations, but I must not be so wrapped up in them that I would experience disappointment if God has other plans.

Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." I think that this verse is often taken out of context. People interpret what they want to hear; I'm certainly guilty of it. Popular interpretation of Psalm 37:4 says that God will give me everything that I desire if I trust in Him. I would be lying if I said I never experienced desires of the flesh. I am no less of a sinner than anyone else. God desires His children to be like Him (John 12:26), so why would He grant fleshly desires that might cause us to grow apart from Him?

Instead, I think that Psalm 37:4 refers to the fact that when we delight ourselves in God, His character, His promises, and His sacrifice, our desires begin to line up with His desires. Eventually, we desire exactly what He desires, thus we receive the desires of our hearts.

Here is where I begin to struggle. What if a desire I have is one that may be beneficial to my faith, but it, at the same time, may be a selfish, fleshly desire? A specific example of this is my desire to marry. Being from a family that is not involved in church, there is no dominant spiritual leader in my life other than my Father in heaven. I know that a godly husband (especially a man from a Christ-centered family) would help bridge the gap and continually point me closer to my Savior. However, at what point do I need to let go of my fleshly desire and say, "God, I'm prepared for anything. If singleness is what You have planned for my life, then I'm ready to embrace it!"

Another example comes with making New Year's Resolutions. I have gotten in trouble in the past with having been so set on my own plans for my life that I experienced extreme disappointment when I realized God had something else in mind. Because of this, I've taken on the challenge of trying my hardest to not make my own plans or expectations, and instead be completely open and available to God's plans. However, if I am going to make any sort of an impact on the world, I'm going to have to make a plan of action. I cannot always 'wing it' and expect to be effective. That is not how it works; I have to be intentional.

So where is the balance here? How can I plan but still be available to God? How do I plan enough to believe in my work and its effectiveness, but leave room for the possibility of failure? How can I embrace failure so as to not be disappointed, but, rather, rejoice when God's plan trumps my own?

I think the answer goes back to Psalm 37:4. If I delight myself in the Lord, if I find my joy in Him because of His mercy, because of His justice, and because of His sovereignty, then my plans will begin to line up with His. I believe in His plans. He is sovereign. His plans will prevail.