Presented by Lauren Stibgen
Picture for me the wheel on a bicycle. In the center you have a hub. From the hub you have many spokes that connect to the outer circle of the wheel to make it round and keep it round. These spoke form pie-slice sections in the wheel to create stability. All these parts work together to move the bicycle down the road smoothly.
Now, I want you to picture what happens when you remove the hub. Suddenly, all those spokes have no connection and the structure just fails. Or maybe the hub is there but you have a few spokes that are shorter than the others. Your wheel becomes very wobbly, and you simply fall flat. That bicycle is going nowhere fast! And hopefully none of this happened while you were cruising down the road quickly!
You might be thinking, what in the world does any of this have to do with Jesus or our walk. Well, let me repaint this wheel for you. At the center of your wheel is Jesus. He is our hub that holds all the spokes together. The spokes represent different areas of our life, that if left unattended consistently, become out of shape or have different levels of “fullness” to create a perfect rounded life. The visual is meant to help you find a balance while remembering that Jesus must be in the center of all areas to have true success!  And here’s a news flash: I have been using this exercise for over 8 years, and my wheel has never been perfectly round. However, came into better shape when I took my relationship with Jesus out of the spokes and made him the hub!
Let’s consider this hub. How do we evaluate our walk with Jesus? What are some of the commandments and spiritual disciplines we are called to keep that help ensure we have a hub for our wheel? I consider these the elements of abiding.
John 15:4-5 exhorts, Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Jesus is very clear. He is the vine (or hub), and my life is made up of these branches (or spokes). If I am not abiding in him, I simply can’t do anything. I could nurture my branches and water them and try everything I know how to do, but if I am severed from the vine, none of my efforts will ever bear fruit! So, how do we abide? Here are a few practices and some Scripture that point to the goodness of each.
First, simply be in God’s Word. You cannot expect a fully abiding relationship with Jesus if you never read your Bible and study it in a deeper way. Every time I read a book of the Bible again, I receive a new revelation that is perfect for me in that time. It is like God knows what I need, when I need it! Imagine that! Just like a vine that provides perfect nourishment for the branch, God is nourishing me with his Word in the most perfect way. If I am not reading, he is not feeding!
Deuteronomy 8:3 states that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes out of the mouth of the Lord.
In John 6:35 Jesus further clarifies, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
Another practice of abiding is prayer. Are you taking time to talk to God? Or do your days hurry frenetically, filled with stress? If you are on social media, I know you have seen the quote, “Have you prayed about it more than you’ve talked about it”? If I am honest, there are many times I find myself steeped in idle talk with others rather than praying to God about a problem. As we discover the spokes of our wheel, we’ll see why this is problematic.
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41).
There are countless verses about prayer, but this one is critical for our balanced life. Our flesh is simply too weak to keep our sin nature from destroying the spokes of our wheel! Speaking of our sin nature, when was the last time you confessed your sins before the Lord?
Whoever conceals their sin does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy (Proverbs 28:13).
In the Psalms, David described how his bones wasted away when he was silent. God’s hand was heavy on him, but when he confessed, God forgave him.
Another element of abiding is being a part of Christ’s church—placing yourself within the body of believers. First Peter 2:5 says, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
How are you abiding in the vine with other believers? This is important as others can encourage and hold you accountable to practice the abiding elements like reading the Word, praying, and confessing your sins!
The Word also calls us to love one another. John 13:35 exhorts, By this all will know that you are my disciples, that you have love for one another. If you are not in community with other believers how would anyone know you are a disciple of Jesus Christ?
Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind… (Romans 12:2).
If you are still walking in the ways of this world, how would anyone know you are abiding with Jesus?!Have you worshiped and praised God lately? Another element of abiding, praise and worship can happen both in solitude and in community with other believers.
…that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under earth (Philippians 2:10).
 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name (Hebrews 13:15).
Abiding: Reading the Word, prayer, confession, praise and being part of the body of Christ!
Just how whole is the hub of your wheel? As you start planning for anything, I would encourage you to start here. How can you strengthen these elements of your relationship with Jesus? After all, apart from him you can do nothing — nada—at least nothing that will bear fruit!
Perhaps this is where your wheel stops for a while, but let’s consider the other spokes. These are elements of our lives that, when out of balance, make our ride bumpy to say the least.
I am going to start by listing these elements: Spouse or significant other, education/self-Improvement, fun and hobbies, vacation/renewal, home/office dwelling, finances and possessions, health, serving/giving, career/professional, family and friends.
The Bible has something to say about almost everything listed here. Let’s bring these elements into some major categories: relationships, health, leisure, finances, personal growth. Some of the spokes span a few of these categories but bear with me.
Now, as we think of how we evaluate each of these spokes, let’s start from a place of abiding.
Relationships. What does God have to say about marriage, family, and friendships. Well, a lot! In fact, I could spend an entire program talking about it, so let’s pick a few of the hot buttons. I think first and foremost we should consider John 13:34-35: A new command I give you; love one another. As I have loved you, you must love one another.
If you don’t know, this is Jesus speaking to his disciples. In relationships we are called to LOVE like Jesus! What does this look like? Just a few chapters later, Jesus tells us, Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). Have you ever said delightfully, “Gosh, I just love so and so to death!” Wonder where that little phrase came from? Look no further than Jesus. He died for our sins. This is the ultimate love he has for those who place their faith in him.
Loving well in marriage, friendship, and with family is, again, a rich biblical subject, but we can start with thinking of forgiveness and supporting one another.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32).
Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15).
As you think about your relationship goals or how to repair your broken wheel spokes, look first to God’s Word to set the standard!
Health. Does God care about our body? You bet He does!
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Garbage in, garbage out. What are you consuming? Food, media, anything that doesn’t help you honor God with your physical and mental health should be first on your list as you set goals for health. He made an amazing body for you! You are called to honor him with it.
Leisure. Fun and hobbies and vacations. For some, this may include serving too. How do you honor God with your leisure? The verse that comes to mind again from earlier is to not be conformed to this world. If you could picture Jesus coming alongside you for any of the leisure activities or vacations, would he be staring at you in shameful disbelief, or would he be walking along the shore of a sandy beach admiring the glory of creation with you? It is funny what comes to mind when you frame it this way! Maybe you love to read, crochet, run, or paint? Whatever you do, do it for the glory of the Lord!
Finances. This spoke has a lot of impact. Whether it is charitable giving, home renovations, vacation plans, or ideas about what you want or maybe need, without finances, the probability of purchasing anything isn’t very promising. Remember the hub—without Jesus none of this is very promising. So many people think of dollars when they hear the word finances, but this could imply evaluating everything from your earnings to your debt. Or maybe you are evaluating tithes, trying to gain a better understanding of what this means for you.
Let’s remember every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17). We simply need to open the Bible to learn more about giving and finance. Proverbs 3:9 tells us to honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of your crops. And when we don’t consider God first, 1 Timothy 6:10 reminds us that, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Not the money itself—the love of money.
Personal growth. Let’s consider education, self-improvement, career, and professionalism—although, self-improvement can impact almost all other spokes as well. As you seek to improve yourself, just remember, this can be an uncomfortable but worthwhile process.
Completing this exercise will cause personal growth! The AI assist on Google calls this “a holistic perspective, visual representation, self-awareness promoting tool that can be used as a goal setting foundation”. If this isn’t personal growth, I am not sure what is!
How round is your wheel? Is it in balance? Are you missing the hub or have a few broken spokes?
Remember, start by making Jesus the center of your life. Apart from him you can do nothing!
How Balanced is Your Life Handout

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