Leaning In.

I just returned home from five days in Dallas. We were there for my son’s volleyball tournament, which also happened to be over the 4th of July holiday weekend. During our downtime, I decided to visit Dealy Plaza (the site of JFK’s assassination), the Book Depository Building (Oswald’s perch) and we even watched fireworks from the infamous “Grassy Knoll”. It’s likely many of you have been there as well. In addition, we visited the George W. Bush Museum at SMU, which is filled with facts and relics reflecting Bush’s entire presidential legacy but also prominently chronicles the details leading up to and after 9/11 since this dreadful attack occurred under his administration. I was fascinated by all of this yet I think the thing that struck me above all else was the level of domestic pride and patriotism that we as a nation felt and experienced during these most challenging of times. Not only were we proud to be Americans, we were determined to respond swiftly and aggressively against the evil that had trespassed against us. 

I began to reflect on my own life and maybe human nature in general. When life just sort of rolls on in the “status quo zone”, we can easily slip into our cozy bubbles of complacency and hit cruise control. I know I am guilty of this. When things like 9/11 or ISIS or relational strife or loss of job or terminal illness strike, we are immediately awakened from our slumber and called to action. These are the times many of us fall to our knees and seek God. These are the times we unify and band together and these are the times that we realize how small we are in the face of really big challenges. 

I’ve learned by now that the proverbial $hit is bound to hit the fan for each of us, if it hasn’t already, and it may not hit it just once. There will always be something major lurking just around the corner. The question isn’t IF we will eventually be dealt a bad hand but rather WHEN and then HOW will we play it. When it happens, we will most likely always be caught off guard, shocked or even ill equipped to deal with it but we are suddenly required to move. In the same ways we prepare for disasters by having excess water and batteries on hand or posting placards to help us escape or belt in just in case, we need to, in similar fashion, be prepared to handle life’s many trials and challenges. But how? 

I believe God is calling us to lean in. Not only to lean in when things are already in chaos but to be continually leaning into Him on a daily basis. Lean into His wisdom. Lean into His discernment. Lean into His love. We lean into God when things are awesome and we lean into God when we’re falling off the rails. I believe complacency is the smoke screen that keeps us from seeing the importance of leaning into God when things are going well. This doesn’t mean that we sit around and wait for the “shoe to drop” but rather we remain cognitive to seek Him in the goods times as well as the bad.

No matter what you’re going through right now, consider taking a moment to acknowledge your Maker and invite Him into every area of your life.

Let’s go get it!

Verses to Consider:

2 Chronicles 7:14 – “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”

Matthew 6:33 – “Seek first the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”