In the last couple of weeks, I have witnessed all manner of hardship around me. The sudden death of a son. Adopted children wrestling with trauma and fear. Inconclusive test results. Two attempted suicides. A mysterious illness in a child.
Moments like this rattle us to our core. They remind us that the world is fallen, and we are frail. They speak to our smallness, and our need for a solid place.
Pleas to God for comfort and peace and hope are intermingled with the aching questions of, “Lord Jesus, why?” and, “What now?” and “Where are You?”
There is desperate clinging to that which is good, mixed with a wonder and confusion of how we continue to navigate this world that is so hard and uncertain.
And when I ponder it myself, here’s what keeps resonating in my soul:
Lean in.
Lean into His voice whispering through the questions and the confusion, “Come closer, sink deeper. Find a place of solace where your soul can exhale and rest. I’ve got this. I’ve got you.” We set aside what we do not know and grab hold of what we do.
Lean in, friends. Hard. Lean into the One who sees it all. Fall on the One who loves you. Collapse in the arms of the One who is more than able. Lean to the point where your feet don’t even touch the ground anymore and you’re just carried by Him.
He can handle it. There is nothing beyond His strength. He is our ezer kenegdo, our warrior helper, who fights for us and helps us.
Don’t just throw your worries at Him hoping something will stick, hoping for the best. Lean into His promises like your life depends on it. Let your leaning be full of faith, hope, and trust.
Don’t let your unanswered questions drive a wedge of bitterness or hopelessness between you and the very one who knows what you need and wants to walk with you in this.
As Hudson Taylor said, “It does not matter how great the pressure is. What really matters is where the pressure lies-whether it comes between you and God, or whether it presses you nearer His heart.”
The promise of abundant life is not the promise of a painless life.
It is not the promise of a happy life. It is a promise of resources plentiful for what we will walk through. Here is where we can always lean in and find what we need for the journey.
So lean in with your fists, if you must. Lean in with your wailing and doubts and anger, and beat your hands against His chest until it dissolves into grief and you let Him hold you.
Lean in with the faith of a child and rest. Rest in His comfort and peace, knowing you don’t have to have answers or direction-you just know that someone holds those for you.
Lean into His embrace. Listen to His heart beat for you. Hear His voice speak over you the very words you long to hear. Find what you need.
You can never lean too hard, or push too much. There is no way you will topple Him or ask more than He can offer. He is our solid oak, our life raft, our shelter, our rock in the storm.
Lean in.
Related posts:
Love it. Thank you.
You’re welcome!
He is such a good God. I love the way you described leaning in. Let Him love us. Let Him hold us. Listen to His heart beat for US….Yes! I want to lean in MORE…
Yes-I love mentally picturing leaning in to Him.
Good words. Go go go!
Thanks Mike!
Such a good reminder. Thank you!
You’re welcome Debbie!
Here’s a poem that matches your post:
Child of my love, lean hard,
and let me feel the pressure of thy care;
I know thy burden, child, I shaped it;
Poised it in mine own hand, made no proportion
In its weight to thine unaided strength;
For even as I laid it on, I said,
“I shall be near, and while she leans on me,
This burden shall be mine, not hers;
So shall I keep my child within the circling arms of mine own love.”
Here lay it down, nor fear
To impose it on a shoulder which upholds
The government of worlds. Yet closer come;
Thou art not near enough; I would embrace thy care
So I might feel my child reposing on my breast.
Thou lovest me? I knew it. Doubt not then
But loving me, lean hard.”
Octavius Winslow
I love this! Seriously, tearing up. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Gina. We have been blessed by your husband this week in France. You both spread the aroma of Christ to many.
Thanks Nancy! Yeah, he’s a pretty great guy isn’t he? 🙂
“He is our solid oak, our life raft, our shelter, our rock in the storm. Lean in.” Beautiful words so full of truth. So glad to connect via #FaithFilledFriday today.
Thanks Karlene! Welcome!
Beautiful post and such a hopeful reminder 😉 Thank you!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Lean in with your fists…..dear girl, yes. And the wailing. My experience says leaning in is the only way to find a slice of sanity and rest. There is no sorrow so deep that God is not deeper still. Thank for organizing the thoughts into a beautiful work of art.
There is no sorrow so deep that God is not deeper still-amen to that!