Is your life in the right balance?
You might think it is…but have you consider the balance Hezekiah’s life had?
Hezekiah’s balance…
In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered. 2 Chronicles 31:21 (NIV)
Even though Oliver Wendell Holmes said it, there is some truth the statement:
Some people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.
– Oliver Wendell Holmes
In my experience, the bigger problem is
Some Christians are so earthly minded that they are no heavenly good.
Hezekiah strikes the balance that we all need to if we are to live the life we were created for. I believe Augustine encapsulated this balance correctly.
Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you. – Augustine
Hezekiah sought his God and worked wholeheartedly.
What does that mean for us today?
First, let’s remember what it means to seek the Lord. When I was growing up, I thought it meant to pray longer and louder and if you were really serious, you should fast. That’s part of what it says in Scripture.
8 Ways to Seek the Lord
1. Think good. Isaiah 55:6-7
2. Speak good. 34:10;14
3. Do good. Psalm 24:4-6
4. Trust God. Psalm 9:10
5. Obey God. Matthew 6:33
6. Pray to God. Jeremiah 29:12-14
7. Serve God wholeheartedly. 1 Chronicles 28:9
8. Live Humbly. Zephaniah 2:3
This is not a checklist, it’s a lifestyle. It’s how we work out the implications of the life of the Spirit. It’s not for a season or just when we’re really in trouble. This is how we need to live the life we were created for.
I think it’s time we unpack that a bit more.
1. Think good. Isaiah 55:6-7
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
Isaiah 55:6-7 (NIV)
Are you thoughts fixed on good things?
2. Speak good. Psalm 34:10;14
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing…
…keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
Psalm 34:10;14
Are your lips speaking good things?
3. Do good. Psalm 24:4-6
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.
They will receive blessing from the Lord
and vindication from God their Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, God of Jacob.
Psalm 24:4-6
Are your hands doing good things?
4. Trust God. Psalm 9:10
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10
Are you trusting God or yourself?
5. Obey God. Matthew 6:33 (AMP)
But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. Matthew 6:33 (AMP)
Are you obeying God in every area of your life?
6. Pray to God. Jeremiah 29:12-13
Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:12-13
Is prayer a priority in your schedule?
7. Serve God wholeheartedly. 1 Chronicles 28:9
And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you…1 Chronicles 28:9
Do you serve God with everything you do?
8. Live Humbly. Zephaniah 2:3
Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness, seek humility;
Zephaniah 2:3
Do you live humbly?
We just can’t give this lip service, we need to work it into the day-to-day of everyday.
How we do that is the next part.
How do we work wholeheartedly?
Here’s a video to get you think about that. {The Florist} (You need an account at RightNow Media – join us at Harvest Church to get a free account)
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)
Hezekiah sought his God and worked wholeheartedly.
Whatever work you’re doing, work as unto the Lord. If you’re a stay-at-home mom or retired grandparent, or you run your own business, or you serve tables, if your a professional a student or in the trades…whatever you do, it’s worship unto God.
There is no separation between the secular and the holy. You Are The Temple of the Living God! You bring God with you.
What you do matters…
…and you’ll know it matters more when you do it as unto the Lord.
So no matter what your task is, work hard. Always do your best as the Lord’s servant, not as man’s, because you know your reward is the Lord’s inheritance. You serve the Lord, the Anointed One Colossians 3:23-24 (VOICE)
Do you want to live the life you were created for? Seek God and work wholeheartedly.
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