Lean on Him

Why is it that when things get rough we forget to praise God, but when things are going great we remember? I suffer from anxiety and depression and when things get hard, I tend to forget to pray, forget to thank God for everything he has done and is doing in my life, and I tend to blame God for the anxiety and depression! These feelings are never from God! But God does want us to learn to lean on him when we are having these feelings.

Isaiah 41:10 says "Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." Look at those words a little more carefully. "Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." He is with you. He is YOUR God. He will give you strength and help you. He will hold you up when you can't do so by yourself. He will carry you!

We have seen pictures and paintings of Jesus carrying someone or holding someone up, right? Well, what if you believed that is true? Have you lost someone you didn't think you could live without? Do you suffer from pain on a daily basis? Do you have depression and feel overwhelmingly like this world is passing you by and you are all alone to deal with all the struggles and pain it brings to your door? Imagine that picture. Put yourself in place of that person in that painting. God holds us up when we can't stand anymore. There are only one set of footprints in that sand because he carries you through it.

Lets find a new perspective to view this world, this life that is so cruel and cold. God is warm and comforting. You can see Him when you look around you. Look at the fields of flowers that grew all by themselves. Look at the sky and how it brings rain and replenishes everything and everyone when it comes. We can't control those things, but we can't live without them. Right? Look at the food you eat. Look at the job you have. You may hate that job, but you have one! There are people that are starving and dying of thirst, yet they have more faith than some of us! Maybe it's because they have learned to lean on God and understand that He alone provides. The job that gives you such heartache, He gave to you to put food on your table. He gave to you to supply your children with what they need. Yet you hate it.

How about when we hate ourselves. We get angry too easy. We yell at our children. We are terrible housekeepers. Whatever it is, you name it, it can cause us to hate ourselves. We forget to care for ourselves and therefore care for others more than ourselves. God made you like you are for a reason. Perhaps this depression was a gift! Imagine that! When you FINALLY learn to deal with it and lean on God, you can teach someone else and give your testimony to someone else that needs to hear those words from you. The hard part is learning to lean on Him.

Lets take this journey together to learn to lean on God in order to bring us out of this mess. Through Him ALL things are possible!

"Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5