Having balance in our walk with God is not always easy to attain. To avoid being the believer Paul spoke about in the Bible being tossed to and fro by the ebbs and flows of doctrine and other beliefs (Ephesians 4v14) we need to achieve a certain balance to walk in the truth we have been given. Toure Roberts , husband to Sarah Jakes Roberts (whose father is TD Jakes), One Church founder leader, entrepreneur and author brought to life this gem of wisdom titled “Balance: Positioning yourself to do all things well”
“Balance: Positioning yourself to do all things well” is written in three parts “Redefining balance, Restoring balance, Refining balance”. All three parts give us in-depth perspectives on how we should understand and perceive balancing our lives as Christians. Toure shares practical tools from his personal experience, the bible, and psychological research. Tools such as, observing the sabbath, taking mini-trips away, and/or learning to make our ‘yes’ expensive and ‘no’ more frequent are explored within these pages. This book helps us to realise that at times we just need to know what our soul needs to refuel, to keep our lives in order and ourselves in check. In his introduction, Roberts explains that “Balance is not about learning to effectively give pieces of yourself to important parts of your life. Balance is about knowing and becoming your entire self—and then giving from your wholeness to everyone and everything within the context of your life.”
The most compelling chapter from his book is “Balance after the blow” as Roberts shares his experience of dealing with loss and grief. He explains that taking time away to be healed by our comforter is of great importance when healing from a personal loss. He adds further that we should surrender to pacing ourselves through grief and tend to the inner wound following a loss instead of burying ourselves in our jobs. Escaping our grief is never a solution underlines Pastor Toure. It will only be swept under the rug and will come back at an inopportune time to cause more damage to our souls. No one loves to explore negative emotions but if not studied and released that could be damaging to our mental health and in the long run to our physical health.
Roberts also encourages exercising, eating well, and having a disciplined routine. The word discipline and willingness are emphasised as being of prime importance if we want a certain balance to be achieved in our lives with God. It takes a lot of willpower and the power of the Holy Spirit all wrapped in one to live a balanced life. He reassures his readers that not every day will be perfectly balanced but there can be balance in our everyday life if we are willing to invite the Holy Spirit to show us a more balanced way of life.
Indeed, nothing of what he has written in his book can be achieved in our own strength, he certainly reinforces this fact at the end of his book. He invites us to deepen our relationship with God to be able to live a balanced life.
If you consider your life to be out of balance, grab his free audiobook on audible or buy it here on Amazon
Words by Gassy Traore
