More on Crutches...

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  (Psalm 23:6)

This morning in worship, Pastor Norm asked us to write on a little index card what "crutch" we are leaning on in life.  We all have one (if not more than one), myself included.  I don't know about anyone else in the pews around me, but I had no trouble thinking of my crutch: fear.  For most of my life, I have allowed fear to keep me from living an abundant, joyful life in Christ.  Thankfully, God is persistent and He continually finds a way to penetrate my fear.  But still, your humble blogger admits to reaching for her crutch far too often.

Fear, like all our crutches, is a lie that if we allow it to set up shop in our hearts and minds, it will flourish and crowd out the hope and peace that God has promised each of us.  The final verse of the Twenty-Third Psalm emphasizes the importance of replacing fear with hope in the promise of God.  David's choice of words in this verse is telling.  He said "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."  Notice he did not say, "I hope goodness and mercy can manage to follow me at least most of the time, and maybe I'll end up spending time with God in heaven."  With God, there is no maybe.  There is confidence, there is trust, and there is truth.  The only obstacle is in giving up our crutches in order to walk in that truth.

In his book, "God's Psychiatry," Charles Allen concludes his narrative about the Twenty-Third Psalm by reminding us that we have an advantage over David:  "David did not have the insights that we have.  He never heard the words, 'I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet will he live; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.'"

The Twenty-Third Psalm is one of the most recognizable, easily-recited passages in all of the Bible.  It's one thing to know the Psalm.  It's another thing to know the Shepherd, but we can only know Him if we choose to free ourselves from that which keeps us from Him.  We must immerse ourselves in His Word, we must share our lives with Him, and then trust Him to direct our paths.

I am guilty of the sin of leaning on my crutch instead of my Shepherd.  "Letting go and letting God" doesn't have to be as hard as we make it.  When I find myself falling into fear, I must resist the temptation to sin and reach instead for the strong hand of Jesus.  He will catch me when I fall, and He will hold firmly to me as I walk in faith.  He'll do the same for you, friends, no matter what crutch you're hanging onto.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  That's a promise.  Now...let's live like we believe it.