Present with God: In my Lean

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." -Proverbs 3:5

Where you lean reveals what you trust.

I have a crippling fear of heights. Anytime I stand on a ledge or looking over a cliff or just at the top of a flight of stairs I lose my balance. In order to stay upright, I have to have something to lean on. Every time I reach out for the railing it reveals that I trust the railing more than I do my own balance.

Each of us has moments of spiritual vertigo. There will be times in our lives where our spiritual equilibrium is upset. We will feel the world is spinning out of control and we could fall at any second. In these times, where we lean reveals what we trust.

For many of us, our first instinct is to lean on ourself. We will trust in our own ability to get back into balance. But the writer of the proverb challenges us to lean into God. By making ourselves mindfully aware of his stabilizing presence we can restore our sense of balance and be at peace.

When we trust in ourselves we too often will make compromises to right ourselves. We will cut moral corners. We will damage relationships. We will make things worse. But when we lean on God, we find a strong and stable foundation. By being mindfully aware of God's presence we can see that the world isn't spinning, only our perception of it is. God is still in control and is still unfailingly working his purpose in our lives. When we lean on him, we are secure and safe and strong and free.

Be Present with God

Make some time to be present with God. Take a moment to focus on the place where your body is supported. Either your contact with the chair or your feet on the earth. Feel the strong support under you. Now recognize that God's support for you is just as strong and sure. Worship him that he is the foundation upon which you can stand. Ask him to make you more consciously aware of how he has and will continue to be the support which you can lean on. Thank him for the way he has made you aware of his presence in this time.

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