“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
“In English the word lean has a connotation of physically listing or moving to one side. When we physically lean toward one side or another, we move off center, we are out of balance, and we tip. When we spiritually lean to our own understanding, we lean away from our Savior. If we lean, we are not centered; we are not balanced; we are not focused on Christ.” (Bonnie H. Cordon, “Trust in the Lord and Lean Not.” April 2017)
We lean away from Christ when we doubt. We lean away from Christ when we are afraid. Sometimes we are afraid of what others will think of us. We are afraid we won’t get the answers we seek, or that the answer we get will be something we don’t like. We don’t lean into Christ and trust Him to catch us and lead us in the path that is best for us, even if it requires some discomfort along the way.
Have you ever participated in a trust fall exercise? It can be terrifying, particularly if you are falling into the arms of a person or group of people who you don’t fully trust. What if Christ were the one catching you? Would you trust him to physically catch you as you fall? I can promise you He will catch you spiritually just as fully.
Meditation and Journaling Prompt: When do you find yourself leaning away from Christ? What are you afraid of?
Call to Action: Practice leaning into Christ today. Imagine falling backwards into His arms. Every time you start to feel afraid or like you are leaning on your OWN understanding, visualize that fall and Him catching you in His arms.
Mindfulness Tip: Pause for 1 minute every hour to check in on your thoughts, feelings and sensations. What is your body telling you? What is the Spirit telling you?
