Finding Balance: How To Remember Who You Are in Christ

Finding Balance

Have you ever had one of those days where you just can’t seem to regain control of the day?  It’s like one thing happens, then another and the next thing you know you’re stressed out and worried about something you have completely no control over. Yes, those days.  For me, those days usually happen if I don’t start my day off with some quiet time with the Lord. If I rush off for my “To Do” list first, I have a hard time ever getting my day back.

Can you imagine living every single day of your life like that? Maybe you can.  Maybe you are living it right now.

There is hope. There is advice from the Lord on that very subject. In Ephesians 4:1, Paul reminds us that we are to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. The Greek meaning of  worthy actually means “an equilibrium, to raise the other arm of the scale”.  If our calling is on one arm and we are on the other, how in the world do we ever begin to equal out the sides? We can’t.  But Jesus can.

How to Be Worthy
Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, his spirit lives in us and we have the ability to live a life worthy.  We can’t do it alone.  We have to do it through him. That is how we become “worthy” to live the life we are called to.  He does the work – not us.

When we forget who we are in Christ, it’s one of the worst things we can do to ourselves.  It can be devastating.  When we forget the truth, it changes our thinking. Paul reminds us we are to be made new in the attitude of our minds (Ephesians 4:23). I know this all too well.   I have days I let my mind wander and think of things that aren’t edifying.  It is really hard to redeem those day. Thankfully, I have a Savior who can do all that for me (and so do you!)

So what do we do? We remember. We remember all the answered prayers. We remember His faithfulness.  We remember the God we serve. We remember who we are in Christ.  Remembering what is true changes our thinking.

To Remember
If you haven’t read it yet, I would encourage you to read Joshua 3 and 4.  In those chapters, Joshua and the Israelites are trying to cross the Jordan River.  I’m not talking about a river you can just walk through. The Jordan was at flood stage.  It was impassable. The priests were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and they had to get it across the river. Do you know what the Lord did? The minute the priest’s feet touched the water, “the water from upstream stopped flowing…it piled up in a heap a great distance away” (Joshua 3:16) and they walked on dry ground.  Did you catch that?!  Dry ground.  They didn’t walk on damp ground or marshy ground.  It was dry groun.  Wow! Only a day before, Joshua told the people “tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you” (Joshua 3:5). Now that is something to remember!

Ways to Remember
Upon reaching the other side, the Israelites built a memorial of stone. Joshua instructed the men to take twelve stones (one for each tribe) and set them up at Gilgal. Each time they saw the memorial, they would remember that the Lord is mighty and He is in control. It was a reminder to them that “the Lord did this, so all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful” (Joshua 4:24).

What is your reminder? You need one too. Life gets so crazy and I think the enemy’s greatest tool is keeping us busy and distracting us. He is relentless at finding ways to make us forget Who we truly serve. One of Satan’s greatest tools isn’t trying to get us to rebuke God, but to forget Who He is. When we forget who God is, we begin to try to do it all on our own. Remember what we talked about at the beginning? About being worthy? We need Him to create that equilibrium, to be worthy.

Find something that helps you remember. There are so many ways you can do this, but here are just a few ideas:

• Keep a prayer journal of answered prayer. Be sure to thank him! Reflect on it when you try to take control and remember what He has done for you already.
• Wear a red string around your wrist as a physical reminder.
• Have a song that reminds you of God’s power and love for you. Worship is the best way to turn your mind around.
• Make a list of all the things you have to be thankful for. Read One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  This book was a great tool to change my point of view.

What do you do to remember who God is to you? Please share them with us!