YOU CAN LEAN ON HIM
YOU CAN LEAN ON HIM
A few days ago, I leaned back on the cutting table in my “atelier” and discovered that the legs were somewhat wobbly. I knew we had to adjust the legs in order to avoid a major disaster where the whole table would collapse. So I made plans to send for the carpenter to come and fix it.
Later in the day, as my mind kept going back to the wobbly table I could not help thinking that the way that table could easily collapse with just a slight push is the way anything we rely on outside of God is destined to eventually fall apart. This reminded me of some attributes of God – God is dependable; God is reliable and God is trustworthy. When we lean on God we can never fall apart or collapse. And in my native Yoruba language, one of His many names is “ATOFARATI”; which literally means “You can lean on Him”.
Throughout scripture people who depended on any power outside of God were always disappointed at the end of the day. Please read what is written here: “On Egypt? If you lean on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath your weight and pierces your hand. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, is completely unreliable!” 2 Kings 18: 21 NLT Not only will anyone outside of God disappoint us, the one who relies on them will even get hurt. Worse still they will be cursed. “This is what the LORD says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD.” Jeremiah 17: 5 NLT Let us be careful who or what we are relying on. God can and will use fellow humans to help us but we are not to put our trust in them. We should put our trust in God and let Him decide whom He will use because He can use anybody. God used Cyrus the Great, a Persian king, to deliver the Israelites from Babylonian captivity. The following is God talking to Cyrus: “And why have I called you for this work? Why did I call you by name when you did not know me? It is for the sake of Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one. I am the LORD ; there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle, though you don’t even know me,” Isaiah 45: 4 -5 NLT
Working in the hospitality industry, I am very abreast of prices of food items in the market and the rate at which they increase weekly or even daily. It is very alarming. People are barely getting by and most times when we have challenges we think of going to someone we know to ask for help. The truth is that people we know are also dealing with their own issues. And sometimes they are genuinely unable to help. But the Word of God says: “My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” Psalms 121: 2 KJV And God does help. We have been told in His word that He is a very present help in the time of need. But we must NOT give up. Our persistence in the place of prayer is proof that we have faith in God. And He will always show up. Yes there are times it seems like help is taking too long to come to us; but let us please keep trusting God. His timing is always perfect. If we have the knowledge of His love for us, honestly, we will not doubt what He says. There is an unwavering trust we intuitively have in the one who loves us. John, a disciple of Jesus Christ always referred to himself as “The disciple that Jesus loves”; and because of this he found it easy to lean on Jesus. So much so that other disciples would push him forward to ask Jesus questions because they believed Jesus would tell Him. “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.” John 13: 23-24 KJV If we do not love or trust a person we will not feel safe enough to lean on them for fear that they might step away and let us fall flat on our face. God will NEVER do that to us. He is “ATOFARATI”
Dear friends, our God is worth leaning on any day and every day. Are you tired of running around for the solution to that problem? Slow down and lean on Jesus, He will show you a better way. Are you on the verge of a mental breakdown? Please find a way to get to Jesus and just rest on Him. His peace will restore your wellbeing. Let us persevere, push, and tarry in the place of praise, prayer, worship and meditation on His word. Our Heavenly Father sees the struggle and feels the pain too. He knows and He will send help, IN TIME.
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO LEAN ON HIM. HE WILL NEVER LET US FALL.
OLUYINKA EGO-MARTINS©