Glorifying God through the Arts (Part 4)

This semester at MoezArt (my theatre group), we are performing a musical. With a musical comes dancing and learning choreography.

One day in rehearsal, we were learning the end of a dance number, when my instructor informed me I would be doing a “leaning stunt.” This meant I was to put my arm around my partner’s neck and just lean completely on my side onto the side of my partner.

At first, I must admit, it felt a bit awkward and I was a bit hesitant to put all my weight on him. So, what did I do? I put my leg out, attempting to hold some of the weight myself. However, after doing this a few times, I realized:

I was making it harder on myself.
I was making it harder on my partner to support me.

This, my friends, is what we do in our relationship with God. God tells us in His word to lean on Him and not on our own understanding. He tells us to let Him be our Refuge, Rock, and Cornerstone, but all too often we refuse and tell God we can do it ourselves. For me, it ultimately comes down to this: I don’t trust Him (Psalms 40).

I don’t. I don’t trust Him to completely take care of me and to make sure I have all that I need. I don’t trust Him with my time, resources, and activities. So, what do I do? I stick out my leg in an attempt to take the weight and to make my life “easier” or to have a “peace of mind” (James 4:13-17). When in reality, leaning on Jesus is the only place I am going to find real satisfaction, joy, and peace (Psalms 16:11).

The problem with doing life on our own is that it gives God no room to do what He does best: be God.

This may seem strange to you, but think about it (James 4:4-10): when we take matters into our own hands and take control of a situation, we are proclaiming we know what is best and in turn, we take the place of God (Isaiah 45:12, 42:8).

My friends, I am so guilty of this! I am so guilty of wanting to be like God and wanting to do everything in my own sweet time and energy. I want things to go my way, and not His (Genesis 3:1-7). This is a lesson my Heavenly Father has been teaching me lately, and perhaps you can relate…?

Perhaps you have been striving and trying, day after day, to make your days go right and for all life circumstances to be in your favor, but maybe you are starting to realize something isn’t working. Something is off, and no matter how hard you try, you lose (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

My friends, I encourage you to take a step back and ask yourself, “Am I forcing this? Am I trying to take the place of God by trying to accomplish this? What am I running from, and what is God calling me to do/be today?”

When I finally decided to go for it and put my dead weight on my partner, guess what I discovered? Not only was my partner totally capable of holding my weight, but he was ready for me.

Our Heavenly Father is capable and waiting for you too! His arms are stretched wide open, and He is ready to catch you. So put your leg down and fall (Proverbs 3:1-8).

Alyssa Rasor (and your Heavenly Father)