I CAN’T DO THIS BY MYSELF!!!
Have you ever found yourself saying (SCREAMING) these words? Statements like this are not said with a smile on your face or a heart full of cheer. These words come from brokenness, hurt, fear and anxiety. These are the words often uttered when we are at our wits end. These are the words spoken when nothing is going right and everything is going wrong. This is the cry of our hearts when we are on the verge of giving up.
When our days are darkest we have to remember that the sun will shine again. When it seems that troubles will never end, we have to know that troubles don’t last always. When we have nowhere to go and don’t know which way to turn we need to “be still”. But what happens when the sun doesn’t shine and the clock is still ticking and we can’t afford to stand still? When we are weary and hardly have the strength to stand, we can lean on Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Learning to Lean on Jesus is a major lesson. We live in a culture that celebrates The Strong. The Strong are winners. They are the beautiful people. These are the people we name our kids after. They are our heroes because of their ability to stand strong in trials. We celebrate the accomplishments of those who have triumphed over the fiercest competition. We honor our soldiers who put their lives on the line to fight and prevail against the foe no matter the odds. We honor these people because they are worthy of honor.
Nobody rolls out the red carpet for the losers. Nobody holds up the weaklings as an example. No one celebrates the poor, the broken and the downtrodden. Well, almost nobody.
There is one who seeks out the weak. There is one who embraces our brokenness. He is stronger than the strongest man. He is the one who has achieved the highest honors. He has fought the ultimate fight and gained the greatest victory. He is Jesus! He has overcome the greatest odds. He is victorious over Satan and a conqueror of death. He is the Lord and God and KING!
In a culture that demands us to be strong he says “My power works best in weakness” (NLT). In a culture that encourages us to “fix your own problems” we are told, “Turn your burdens over to the Lord” (God’s Word). When we are tempted to hustle and scam and scheme we can cease from our striving and trust that “He will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.” (NLT). What a blessing! It’s a DOUBLE BLESSING.
God is more than good, HE IS GREAT. And even though I come to Him while I am weak and impoverished, He promises to supply my need AND strengthen me to give strength to others. That’s why I’m learning to lean on Jesus.
He doesn’t need me to put on my best face to be with Him. He doesn’t need me to be at my best to come to Him. He simply says, “Come to Me.” (NIV) Because of all that He has been, I come. Because of all that He is and all that He promises to be, I come. Just As I Am, I come with no pretense or pride, no gift or glory, I just come. And while I’m there I will learn to take Him at His word, to trust in Him each day and learn to lean on Jesus. The question is, will you?
LEARNING TO LEAN, LEARNING TO LEAN,
I’M LEARNING TO LEAN ON JESUS.
I’M FINDING MORE POWER, THAN I’D EVER DREAMED,
I’M LEARNING TO LEAN ON JESUS.
Peace and Blessings