Leaning on Him

This is the season of hope! It is a time when we, as Christians, observe the most incredible time in history–the resurrection of our Lord. We know He lives, because He conquered death and He lives in us!!

These times can be a time of much activity in the church. It is a time when many visitors will come to church and hopefully feel the pull of the Holy Spirit to give their hearts to the Lord.
These can also be days in which we reflect over our own walk with the Lord. Many Orthodox churches celebrate Lent: the 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday. They fast and pray and search their hearts during this time. Many rituals are observed and there is much religious ceremony.

However, we can make it a season of reflection on our own part. A time to search our souls and to draw near to God with a new heart and a new appreciation of who He is and what He has done.

Psalm 40:4 says:

“Blessed (joyous, happy, to be envied, spiritually prosperous, satisfied in God’s favor, regardless of their outward conditions) is the man who makes the Lord his refuge and trust.” Amplified Bible

Proverbs 3:5-8 tells us that if we “lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all our heart and mind…it shall be health to your nerves and sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones”.

In other words, our health, prosperity and happiness depends on how much we trust in the Lord!

How can we know if we are trusting God with our whole heart?

One definition of trust is: “to lie helpless, face down and refers to the image of a servant waiting for his master’s command or a soldier yeilding himself to a conquering general”.
These are illustrations of a person who fully realizes that he NEEDS help–that he is totally dependant upon someone else for his success in the future.

To trust or not to trust: we cannot do both. The opposite of trust is distrust–fear and doubt.

I can imagine the fear and doubt that filled the disciples hearts when they saw their Savior dying on the cross. They had to choose to draw on their faith and to believe that He would come through for them some way or another. That He was who He said He was and that He would do what He said that He would do.

It is a dichotomy: on one side is trust in the Lord with all your heart: on the opposite side is fear, doubt and mistrust.

The Bible illustrates different things that will get in the way of our total trust in the Lord.

Jeremiah17:5-6; 7-8 and 9. Which do you choose? “Cursed is the man who trusts in the flesh;  Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.”

• We can trust in our own abilities or strength: Isaiah 31:1-3; Ps.20:7-9
• We can trust in authority: 2 Kings 18:20-21 Governments, leaders, even our spiritual leaders. God always has the final word.
• We can rely on material benefits: Ps.49:6-8; Prov.11:28 God will prove Himself that He is our Provider.
• We could begin to depend upon our own gifts, talents or “beauty”: Ezekial 16 “There is none good but the Father.”
• We may tend to lean upon a family member, a friend or companion: Micah 7:5; Luke 12:51 “He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.”
• We can trust in our own knowledge, education or experience: Ezekial 33:13: Hos.10:12-13 “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

I have been examining my own heart during this season. I want to be “blessed, joyous, spiritually prosperous, and satisfied in God’s favor” today and every day of my life.

I know that if I truly lean on, trust in and rely on Him, that this will be my legacy.

Mary Southerland writes: “To trust God completely means that from the very center of our being, from the very core of our existence  we trust Him, totally abandoning ourselves in childlike faith to Him and His plan. We come to God, holding nothing in our hands–with one word: “Whatever” You do, You have for me, You want to work out in my life…”whatever” it is, I will trust in You.”

Happy Easter!