Sustain

"The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us." ~Billy Graham

"Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22 ESV

If you look up the word "sustain" you will find a great many definitions for the word but this one has to be my favorite: To strengthen or support physically or mentally. To be sustained by God is to be supported by comfort, help, assistance, and encouragement. All these things are available if we only ask. 

 

Each one of us face troubles every day. The key is to allow God to sustain us and turn these troubles into opportunities. In my favorite book of the Bible, the apostle James says that trials should be embraced rather than lamented. 

Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of times in my life when I didn't lean on God for His sustaining power. But as I look back I can see how God sustained me and carried me even when I wasn't following His plan. 

Maybe you followed your heart before and something didn't turn out the way you expected. Was it simply tough luck or the wrong choice? Did you allow God to sustain you or did you lean on your own understanding of the situation? Did you consider that God may have planted you exactly right where you were so that you could learn to depend solely on Him? He simply wanted your faith to grow. 

So instead of turning around when the road starts to wind and becomes dangerous, why not pick yourself up and throw yourself back into the fight, allow God to sustain you through the bad times in order to stretch and grow your faith. God never wastes what you and I are going through as an opportunity to grow you in your faith and dependence on Him. He will use these times to grow us more into the people that He wants us to be. 

When trouble comes, and it will indeed come, dig deeper into God and grow right where you are.