Unshackled Moments ~ September 26 ~ Get Your Lean On

Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 

- Psalm 73:25-26

We all have something we lean on. It can be anything or a variety of things. When we are at work we may lean on things like our intelligence and understanding of the job or maybe our physical appearance to succeed while at home we may lean on something entirely different to keep peace and make our relationships succeed. Sometimes what we lean on to make it through our day is not so good. I once leaned on alcohol and drugs to make  it through life. Sometimes what we lean on is what we've been given by God. I have an ability to write. I'm not the best writer by any stretch of the imagination, but I have a gift that makes writing enjoyable for me and gives me the talent to keep my four or five regular readers coming back. That gift makes opens doors for me to minister my experience, strength and hope of freedom from the things that bind us and the good news of the love of grace of God.

But I shouldn't lean on my gift. I mustn't just go on auto pilot and trust that my ability to write or to talk with get my through what I've been called to do. We are supposed to use our brains. God wants us to think. Whatever strengths we have should be used in a loving and Godly way to make our lives better and to accomplish what we need to accomplish. But while our talents and gifts should be used, they shouldn't be relied upon as our security and safety. They are tools.

God is our refuge and our fortress. He is our provision and our strength. He is our wisdom and the director of our path. He opens doors and protects us on our journey. We should use the gifts and tools we have to do our part in His will, but it is He, and only He, that we need to rely on, because there will be times, regardless of whether what we're leaning on is mental, emotional or physical, where it will fail or not be enough. God will never fail. Not only should we rely on Him, but we can always do so without our support failing.

Today let us remember that the tools we have be born with and the tools we have learned can be helpful and often should be used, but at the same time, they are not to be trusted as the solution. Jesus is our answer, and only in God can we have complete trust. Let's lean on Him today.