Lean On Me...

Many times in life we find ourselves in situations where we simply just do not understand why things are happening. Why do people die? Why did I lose my job? Why did I have this car wreck today? Why me? I feel that in every situation all things work together for those who love God. It’s Biblical (Romans 8:28). I also believe that if God is on our side and that He has things willed for us, and we believe them that nothing can ever stop or stand against us. All we have to do is lean on God and His understanding to bring us through these times and situations. Look up unto Him for His will and direction and will for our lives.

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

What does trusting in the Lord with all of our hearts look like? It looks like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego getting thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down. Daniel refusing to pray and being thrown into the lion’s den. David walking out to face Goliath. All of these people trusted that God would be with them, that He had their best interest in mind. They took a step of faith, and despite unthinkable odds each came out alright. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego walked out of the fiery pit alive. Daniel was not harmed at all by the lions. And David killed a giant with a single stone. They each took a leap of faith, completely trusted in God and His understanding of things.

When someone tells us that we should not lean on our own understanding we look at them like they are crazy. However, I believe that God knows best. Why should we not lean on our own understandings? Because we only look at the temporary, we cannot see the future, and many times do not remember the past. But God does. He was, and is, and forever will be. He knows the plans that he has for us (Jeremiah 29:11). He understands everything that he has for us and we should trust in that. He did not create us to fail, to be miserable, and to do nothing. He created us to lean on Him and His understanding so that He can guide us through everything, the good and the bad. 

For God to guide us we have to allow ourselves to be guided. “In all your ways acknowledge Him…” Not in some of your ways, or most of your ways but in all of your ways. Many times I believe that we all choose to keep part of our lives to ourselves instead of fully submitting completely to God. In these times we wonder why things are going bad. We lose sight of the big picture of God and who He is. The Bible states many times that we are to look up  and focus on God. In the Sermon on the Mount is says to “Seek first the kingdom of God…” Do we really seek first the kingdom of God? I believe that if we really did things would be completely different. I believe that we would be so heavenly minded that the world would see Jesus for who he really is. We no longer will be hypocrites walking around without feelings of guilt and self-worthlessness. We will walk around displaying the love of the Savior who gave His life to save us from our sins. And when the world sees that…. Look out.

You know when we acknowledge God with our whole lives, “He directs our paths.” He does not say your own your own Josh, do it yourself. He says follow me, do as I do, let my Holy Spirit guide you. When we fully submit to God, things become clear to us. When doubt and chaos arise our faith prevails. We stay on the narrow path of faith instead of looming through the wide gate of sin. We allow God our Shepherd king to herd us to where He would have us to be… His Will. 

God does not want us to wander through life wondering what in the world are we doing. He wants to reveal himself to us. He wants us to go through life with a purpose. That purpose is to give Him honor and glory in all that we do. It is to seek him with all of our hearts (Jeremiah 29:13). It is to tell others about Him. It is to go into all of the world teaching others about Christ and baptizing them in His name (Matthew 28: 19-20). Are you willing to lean on Him?