
“For wisdom is a defense, and money is a defense: but the excellence of knowledge is, that wisdom gives life to them that have it.” Ecclesiastes 7:12
In The Balancing Act I wrote, "Achieving true balance is individual. It is your ideal understanding of how God responds in your life, and can be the difference whether your gifts are used for greatness or mediocrity
—success or failure."
And, by the way, just because I wrote this doesn't mean that I have an inkling of precisely how you should get there. That is why the achievement of balance is determined by the individual. What is balance for others may be complete chaos for you, and vice versa. The only thing we can be certain of is, if God is missing from your life you cannot have true balance. God placed Himself in your breath, so in the very action of breathing, your soul would seek Him.
Planning for success is also akin to balance. It allows you to develop a deeper perspective of the work it takes for you to achieve your goal. It offers a general road map so you can see all the options placed before you, determining your values, codes, and morals. It forces us to create a standard for our life, showing others the centripetal force that governs our actions. And, more importantly, it offers a testimony of the plans you made for your life, and the plans God placed before you in spite of the ones you created for yourself.
Achieving success is also individual. I know for some people, there’s a prevailing belief that success has to do with money. However, believing this is deceptive; success has very little to do with money. The only people who believe success is money, are the ones who don't have it, or just received it. Money helps you buy things—more stuff, and, sometimes people, but it cannot buy God. It cannot buy faith, peace, and it rarely buys true love. And, I say rarely because, sometimes in our own confusion and ignorance, God blesses us anyway with the person we really need in our lives.
Ultimately, when you have balance in your life, you will ask God for guidance to achieve “success” in your venture, your project—your life. If you do not, well, ...God is quite patient. L.
Study Reference: Ecclesiastes 7:12-14
From:"Achieving More Balance." In The Master's Hands: 365 Daily Devotions for Everyday Living
Copyright © 2014 by Lavona E. Campbell
Photo credit: Yasu & Junko