"Leaning on the Lord
Living with confidence involves an emptying myself of all self reliance. Man can never be more powerful than that on which he relies. If I rely on myself, I can only be as strong as myself. To be stronger than I am, I must rely on someone greater (Psalm 37:3). Let me suggest four steps to empyting ourselves of self-reliance.
1. Count self's abilities as nothing (Philippians 3 & 4);
2. Hunger for God's empowering (Phillipians 3: 13-14);
3. Learn to pray effectively (Philippians 4: 6-7);
4. Trust (Phillipians 4: 11-12).
Trust always acknowledges God's control and never leaves it to its own persuasions. Trust necessitates that I understand the meaning of true humility. Humility involves:
1. A right perspective of God - true humility is not centered in my inadequacies, but in His magnitude (Isaiah 6:5);
2. A right perspective of myself - humility is not self-degrading, but self-accepting;
3. A right perspective of others - humility will never let me exalt self by degrading others.
God will never make us more fruitful than our humility will allow (I Peter 5:5). I've listed for your study several attitudes to be considered when leaning on the Lord: Perspective - rather than concentrating on the visible, perceive the invisible (Isaiah 40:31); Direction - we commit our ways, He directs our paths (Proverbs 16:3); Obedience - moving only at His direction (Psalm 132:2); Patience - wait with assurance on Him (Luke 2, Simeon; Romans 8:25); Attitude - make proper responses to pressure (Psalm 62: 5,6); Confidence - know God will equip you for the task (I Samuel 21:9); Submission - know the Lord will complete His task: 'Be still and know...' (Lamentations 3:25,26); Non-defensive - don't defend your position (Proverbs 20:22); Sacrifce - giving self to fasting and prayer, begin to see as God sees (Isaiah 58:11); Faithfulness - remain faithful to your duties (Hosea 12:6; Psalm 25:5; Acts 1:4)
Learning to lean,
Ron Mehl"