PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• If you’ve ever had children, or ever observed children, you know they love to lean.
They lean on their parents when they are feeling shy…
When they are feeling bored…
When they are feeling tired…
When they are scared…
If there’s any excuse to lean (especially on insanely hot days), children will do it.
And this leaning tendency isn’t reserved for small children.
My mother still has to tell me to stop leaning on her and I’m 43.
We lean on the ones we trust to care for us and who offer us security.
Who do you lean on?
Why do you lean on them?
What comfort do they offer you?
As you think about those things, let’s look at God our Heavenly Father.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:15b, “…you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’”
And because we are God’s children, He invites us to lean on Him.
In Isaiah 41:10, God said, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
Let’s talk about the phrase “hold you up.”
To hold someone, we need them to rest on us…
To trust us…
We can’t effectively hold someone when they resist us.
When God our Father says He will hold us up, He expects us to lean on Him and let Him carry us.
God reiterated His promise a couple of verses later in Isaiah 41:13, “For I hold you by your right hand— I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.’”
And as we know from 1 Peter 5:7, we are told, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
In all of this, we lean on Him.
And unlike our earthly parents, God our Father does not get tired of supporting our weight.
He’s not hot, sticky, and irritable as we lean on Him.
He is loving and patient and eager to protect us if we will fully trust in Him.
Today, as you pray, thank God for holding you as His child.
Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you often to lean on God…
When you’re tired, overwhelmed, scared, sad, happy, joyful—it doesn’t matter.
Ask Him to remind your heart that there are no restrictions on how and when to lean on God.
One Response
Thank you, it’s nice to know that we can always lean on God.