Finding Your Balance
An SUP Paddling Devotional
Your first time on a stand-up paddle board, everything feels unstable. The board rocks beneath you. The water moves. You're hyper-aware of every micro-movement. Your instinct is to tense up, to grip tightly, to fight for control. And that's exactly what makes you fall off.
Experienced paddlers know the secret: balance comes from relaxation, not tension. You have to trust the board. You have to let your body feel the micro-adjustments needed. You have to stay loose and responsive rather than rigid and controlling. Paradoxically, the more you relax and let go, the more stable you become.
This is counterintuitive. We think stability comes from holding on tighter, controlling more, gripping harder. But actual stability comes from flexibility, from trust, from the willingness to make small adjustments moment by moment.
Your spiritual life works the same way.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
Notice the key word: trust. Not white-knuckle control. Not forcing your way forward. Trust. Submission. The willingness to let God make adjustments that you can't see or predict.
Matthew 11:28 records Jesus saying: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Jesus is offering the same principle: come, rest, learn from me. Not strive harder. Not control more. Rest. Let go. Trust. And in that letting go, you'll find the stability you've been grasping for.
Philippians 4:6-7 says: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Peace guards you. Stability comes through letting go of anxiety and trusting God. Just like balance on a SUP comes through letting go of tension and trusting the board.
Tomorrow's Practice: Tonight, identify one area where you're gripping too tightly – trying to control an outcome, trying to force a result, trying to guarantee a specific future. Ask yourself: what would it look like to relax my grip here? What would it look like to trust God instead of trying to control this myself? Make one small decision to loosen your grip and trust.
Reflection Question: In what area of your life are you so tense and controlling that you're actually creating the instability you're afraid of, and how might you find more balance through relaxation and trust?