{"id":3582,"date":"2017-03-22T02:51:10","date_gmt":"2017-03-22T07:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=3582"},"modified":"2017-03-22T02:51:10","modified_gmt":"2017-03-22T07:51:10","slug":"means-lean-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2017\/03\/22\/means-lean-god\/","title":{"rendered":"What It Means to Lean on God"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Leaning on God is not something that comes naturally in this world we live in. I like things to be perfectly in my control; I\u2019m a planner, and I would rather have things fall perfectly in place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">But, the thing is, things don\u2019t always fall into place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Sometimes, a family member gets a diagnosis that we don\u2019t want. Sometimes. We lose our jobs. Sometimes, our school situations change. Sometimes, our plans fall through in general. But here\u2019s the thing: this is where leaning on God is of paramount importance. We shouldn\u2019t be so wrapped up in what negative things are going on that we forget to lean on the God who loves us more than we can imagine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">So, what does it really mean to lean on Him?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>It means that we keep scripture in our hearts.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> I love the passage from Psalm 119: \u201cI have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You\u201d (Psalm 119:11 ESV). I love this passage because it emphasizes the psalmist\u2019s desire to keep God\u2019s Word close to his chest, so to speak. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> <i>But wait<\/i>, you might be asking me, <i>How could he have had scripture yet? The Bible wasn\u2019t complete in the Old Testament?<\/i> You\u2019re right. It wasn\u2019t. But they still had records of what God did for them in Moses\u2019 days, so they knew of what God\u2019s commands were, and they wanted to keep those commandments in mind at all times. The Psalmist declares this intent to the Lord here, and so should we in our own hearts. We can do so by turning to His Word and reading scripture that instructs, counsels, and comforts us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Cast your cares on Him<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> I also love this passage: \u201cHumble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you,\u00a0casting all your anxieties on Him, because\u00a0he cares for you\u201d (1 Peter 5:6-8 ESV). <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> This passage has definitely helped me in times when I\u2019ve felt totally out of control, whatever the situation, no matter how significant. And I recommend this passage to friends who are feeling a similar way. God <i>wants<\/i> us to cast our cares on Him; from the beginning, He has wanted to help us in this fallen world, from the time Adam and Eve were given skins to wear after their fall (Genesis 3:21)<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>to the crucifixion of His Son.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> All in all, He is there for us, and we can lean on Him anytime.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Finally, trust, even when it\u2019s hard.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> This goes back to casting cares, but there\u2019s a reason why Solomon emphasizes trust in Proverbs 3:5-6: \u201cTrust\u00a0in the\u00a0Lord\u00a0with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths\u201d (ESV).<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> Trust is another thing that doesn\u2019t come naturally to many. We worry so much about our own safety and our own preferences that sometimes, it\u2019s hard to exit our little happy bubbles and step out of our comfort zones to try something new or face our fears. I know I\u2019ve definitely felt that way before about many things in my life, whether it\u2019s been related to me or any worries I\u2019ve had about loved ones. But I can rest assured that God has everyone in His hands, and that all things work together for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28).<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> In my experience, this is what it means to lean on God: leaning on His Word, entrusting my cares to Him, and trusting Him no matter what. In this fallen world, we need all the hope we can get. I could not be more thankful to have His grace, mercy, and strength to carry me through good times and bad. I pray the same for you, dear reader.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>By Savannah Cottrell<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leaning on God is not something that comes naturally in this world we live in. I like things to be perfectly in my control; I\u2019m a planner, and I would rather have things fall perfectly in place. But, the thing is, things don\u2019t always fall into place. Sometimes, a family member gets a diagnosis that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,59],"tags":[61,160,476,578],"class_list":["post-3582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-christian-living","tag-faith","tag-god","tag-savannah","tag-trust","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What It Means to Lean on God - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2017\/03\/22\/means-lean-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What It Means to Lean on God - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Leaning on God is not something that comes naturally in this world we live in. 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