Leaning

I was just listening to Brother Hagin on CD, and he told a story that made me laugh, but also made me think.

Years ago he was in a city with a friend from the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship, and Kathryn Kuhlman was due to speak at their meeting.

At the last minute, Miss Kuhlman got sick and couldn't come. Now, she was very well known at the time for the many miracles that happened in her meetings, especially healings, and many people were anticipating her coming.  But the leader of the organization sent word, "Brother Hagin is there, go ahead and have him minister at the meeting."

Brother Hagin was intimidated! He was more of a teacher than an evangelist with signs following, and he wasn't at all sure he could fill the shoes of Miss Kuhlman. But the Lord told him, "Just give them what you have. It's not you who heals or delivers anyway!" Isn't that the truth?

After hearing that, Brother Hagin just determined to lean on God and as he ministered, to his complete amazement, one lady got up out of her wheelchair and was healed!

It just reminded me how important it is for us to LEAN on God in every situation of life. Victory doesn't depend on us anyway -- it depends on us believing and leaning on Him.

Just Show Up

I think that too many times we strive to create miracles or work things together for our own good. We think it all depends on us. Yet this whole relationship we have with our Savior is based only on His power and goodness, and our believing it.

Really, Him taking our sin and giving us His righteousness is too good anyway -- we just have to come to grips with it and believe it!  We are righteous and have all His power and authority in the earth....only because He is good, not because we are.

The sooner we realize that, the sooner we can get to LEANING on His power.  That's faith, and it's really a no-stress way to live.

I like the way the Amplified Bible describes Paul's delight in the faith of the church at Colossae.  It might as well be written about you! He said "(I'm) delighted at the sight of your orderly array and the firmness and the solid front and steadfastness of your faith in Christ [that leaning of the entire human personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness]" (Colossians 2:5).

Go ahead and LEAN your entire personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness! Nothing is too hard for Him!

God loves it when we believe Him.  Yes, He does need us to listen and obey and show up -- but the making-something-happen part is all Him.  I call it the "just show up theory." When I worked at ORU, I would occasionally pass through the empty TV studio on the way to my office, and one day as I saw the empty stools where Richard and Lindsay Roberts sit and pray for people on their show, God said, "If no one comes to sit in those chairs, no one will get healed."

I saw what He meant.  The healings didn't come from Richard and Lindsay....God is the Healer.  But if they didn't sit in the chairs and pray and be conduits of His healing power (even on the days they didn't feel very anointed!), nothing would happen.

God needs you and I to believe and show up...but our faith is in Him. So LEAN on Him and trust that He is working things out -- whether for you or for others.  Leaning is a life a life of freedom and faith!