You know when Jesus is the center of your life when nothing else is. “Lord, you are everything I need” (Psalm 119:57 NIRV).
When our life is Christ-centered, then everything will be in balance. It doesn’t mean we won’t face hardships, but it will mean that we won’t face them alone. We will find our spiritual equilibrium when once the Spirit of Christ reigns in the center of our life.
The first step is to turn to Jesus and then begins the journey. “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith…” (Colossians 2:6-7 NASB).
When Christ is our center, then everything else will be second to Him. It is when we have this right order in our lives that things will be as they should. So long as we seek things before we seek Christ, we will find only emptiness and fleeting pleasures that are lost before we can ever take hold of them.
Seek the Lord first or you will be out of order. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things [your earthly needs] shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33 NKJV).
We cannot have the peace of Christ apart from Christ, for the two must always come together. Only Christ can give us a lasting peace, but it is up to each one of us to receive it. The only way to receive His gift of peace is to receive Him into the center of our life.
The peace of Christ is within reach of man if he would but simply receive it. The Lord Jesus promised, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27 NKJV).
When Christ is at the center of our lives, then our lives will show it. We can fake a peaceful and holy life only so long, but Christ in s cannot be shaken. Jesus didn’t only come to earth to save us from our sin, but to reign sovereign in us to help us overcome sin.
The best version of yourself is Christ in you. “I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20 AMPC).
When we have Jesus as our first consideration, then every other decision will fall to its rightful place, which is beneath Christ and subject to His evaluation. It is when we are separate from Christ in our decisions that we experience our greatest failures for the decisions in our life.
It’s better to pray before your decisions than after them. “Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:6 NLT).
When Christ is our center, then we are not. We cannot follow Christ so long as we only seek to do what we want. It will be in our surrender to Jesus that we will find freedom, and it will be in the denial of self where we will find our best self.
With Christianity, you’re either all in, or you’re not. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely reject and disown your own life. And you must be willing to share my cross and experience it as your own, as you continually surrender to my ways.’” (Matthew 16:24 TPT).
When Christ is your center, then your life will revolve around Him. You may have a secular job, but your work will be unto heaven. Your influence on those around you will be emanating from Christ who is within you. When the light of Christ is in you, then all you have to do is shine.
It’s not that we need more workers for Christ, but that we need more of Christ in our workers. “Test yourselves and find out if you really are true to your faith. If you pass the test, you will discover that Christ is living in you. But if Christ isn’t living in you, you have failed” (2 Corinthians 13:5 CEV).
In however Jesus is not at the center of your life now, determine in your heart to surrender to Him. We cannot go back and change what we have done but only make good choices that stand before us. The condition for making good choices is to have Christ at the center of them all.
The only way that the Lord Jesus can be the center of your life is if you no longer are. You can only be guided if you’re willing to follow. Jesus taught, “If you want to be my disciple, follow me and you will go where I am going. And if you truly follow me as my disciple, the Father will shower his favor upon your life.” (John 12:26 TPT).
Blessings to you,
Paul Balius