Propped On Your Leaning Side
“Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?” Song of Solomon 8:5
Sometimes this world can seem like a wilderness. If you look around you will see economic hardships, political troubles, and spiritual decay. It is hard to be a Christian in today’s times. But God always sends us just what we need.
There was a pastor who called on one of his members every Sunday to close the service in prayer. At the end of each prayer the man would say, “Oh, Lord, prop me up on my leaning side.” Eventually the pastor got curious and asked the man what he meant. The man said, “Well, Pastor, I am a farmer and I have this old barn that has been there many years and it’s made it through a lot of bad weather. But when I was out in the field one day I looked over and noticed that it was leaning to one side. I didn’t want it to collapse so I took some pine beams and I propped it up on its leaning side.”
“It still leans, but now I know that it won’t fall down.”
Then he began to tell the pastor that his walk with God was a lot like that barn. He noticed over the years that he had tendencies and weaknesses that could take him away from God. To prevent falling away from God, the farmer had prayed every day that God would prop him up and be his strength when he was weak. We can all learn a lesson from that farmer’s barn. From time to time you may find yourself leaning. You could be leaning towards your old desires, or towards anger or bitterness. You could be leaning towards going back to old habits or relationships that God has removed you from. But if you would pray and ask God, He will hold you up in times of weakness and keep you from falling.
I Corinthians 10:13 is an encouraging verse to us all. It says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” God is always near to keep you from falling.
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