Lean In

March 2, 2017

Day 61:  Becoming Complete Again:
"May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.  Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." —Ephesians 3:19

Anderson's story today is about a woman named Karla who had lost her husband and was close to losing her house. She had "endured three major events that had changed her life for the worse," and was naturally suffering with depression. Dr. Anderson and Karla's pastor agreed that she should "lean into God and read his Word everyday, even if [she] didn't feel like it." Anderson told her that even when she felt exhausted and didn't fully understand the passages that she was reading, "God would meet her there, lift her up, an let her experience his love." She followed the advice she was given and it wasn't long before God freed her from the darkness that had enveloped her. Dr. Anderson took her off the depression medication he had prescribed because "God had cured her depression, and she was planning her wedding."

I love to hear stories where people go through intense struggles and emerge stronger, whether they do so because they have trusted in God directly or whether God has just blessed them without their awareness. Each story I hear reminds me that, yes, troubles will come our way. I know I have had my share and more is yet to come. Despair will plague our hearts and weigh us down, like the loss of love and life and faith.  The winds of change will blow so hard at times that we stumble backward and find it difficult to stand in the face of it, like when I learned that my child was transgender and trying to grasp what all that would mean for him. However, through it all, we have a God, a King, who encourages us to lean into Him. He will be our strength when we have none of our own. For it is said, "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold" (Psalm 18:2).

All we have to do is lean in.