Stop Leaning!

I am continuously amazed at how God works. The other morning at 8:10, I received a text message from a friend which consisted of one scripture – one that I memorized and have known since I was a child. It said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB1995

I can’t begin to tell you how timely this message was for me.  In fact, it was such an “on-time” reminder for me to trust the Lord, that I made a Facebook post that said, “Reminder to self – stop leaning!” Oh, I wasn’t physically leaning over about to fall; I was leaning to something worse—my own thinking and understanding of life. At 8:10 in the morning, I was already mapping out a plan to bypass trusting God and I would just take things into my own hands making decisions based on what I could see and feel.   But thank God, at just the right time, the Holy Spirit impressed my friend to remind me of what I should be doing which is trusting God.

“But if you are like me, and you struggle with leaning to your own thinking, you may be asking, “How do I even begin to trust God with all my heart?”  ”

— Kim Dockery

Taking my hands off my life does not come easy for me. I guess that I like to think that somehow, I can control what happens.  In all reality, you and I both know that is not the case.  I can make decisions based on my emotions and what I perceive to be the circumstances; or I can trust in the Lord and allow Him to lead me.

I realize that knowing God and trusting in God is easier said than done. When we can’t see what tomorrow will bring, or what will happen if we make this decision or that, it brings on undue stress and anxiety.  We know that we should trust in God, but it is the walking it out that brings the challenge.  But know this, God desires for us to lean into Him and begin a life of trusting in God by taking one step at a time.    

You may have never had this problem in your life.  But if you are like me, and you struggle with leaning to your own thinking, you may be asking, “How do I even begin to trust God with all my heart?”  The answer is simple. You begin by acknowledging God. Acknowledging God in the New Living Translation says “Seek his will in all you do…”  The Amplified Bible says, “to know and acknowledge and recognize Him.”  And, The New International Version says, “in all your ways submit to him.”  In other words, we acknowledge God by seeking His will, by recognizing the Sovereignty of God, and by submitting our thinking, our opinions, and our plans to God.  Period.

The remaining part of this scripture says that when we trust God and acknowledge Him, God will make our path straight. The New International Version says that God will direct our path. As we begin to trust in God, and acknowledge Him in every part of our life, God promises to lead us in the day-to-day decisions, as well as, in the major decisions of life.  We will no longer wander through life alone, floundering around in our own doings, but we will learn to rest in the arms of an Almighty God who loves us and desires to perform His will and plan in our life.   

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