Leaning on something or someone that is rooted in Christ during a difficulty in life is perfectly fine. We need our brothers and sisters in the Lord. The support of our church family is necessary, even mandatory according to scripture. We err when we reject the opportunity to be uplifted from one another’s encouragement in Christ.
Where we run into trouble is when we lean on things that are not rooted in Christ. Self help will not help us, no matter how empowered we feel. The power that comes from self is rooted in lies, bears pride, and leaves us wounded and left for dead. When we lean on anything that is built on any foundation other than Christ alone, we are leaning on something founded on sand. It will not hold us up under the greatest strains of life.
What are you leaning on today? There’s an old hymn that says, “Leaning, leaning, leaning on the Everlasting arm”. When you lean on your brothers and sisters in Christ, you are leaning on the arm of the Lord because they are in His arms as well. Have you tried to walk this walk in life on your own with no support? Stop. We need our church family.
Know matter how much someone cares for us, unless they are trusting in the Lord for themselves, they can be of no lasting support to us. Without the new mind, the mind of Christ, we know not how to help others. All we know is what comes natural; criticism, frustration, anger, judgement. In Christ we know nothing is impossible. We have faith that He can turn the impossible into the possible. With our faith in Him, we can encourage others in Him and His ability to do what we can’t.
Are you the person that others can lean on for support? Or are you the last person they should turn to because you will run and tell everyone their struggle, judge them harshly, criticize them relentlessly? Be the person you are in Christ. Be a support. Be an encourager. You don’t have to understand how it all works out, just believe that with Christ all things are possible. Remember how Christ interacts with you, with grace and mercy. Act like Him. Rest in Him. Stand in Him. Others need you. I need you. Will you?

Wake up believers! Pay attention to what is currently happening with Turkey and Saudi Arabia. While we are being smoke screened with all the juvenile political smut reporting in our country, players in the end time conflicts mentioned in Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 and 39 are being set in place. Pay attention to how the USA handles the situation in regards to diplomacy with Saudi Arabia. This has biblical significance. It may very well reveal the relationship the two countries have behind the scenes. According to Ezekiel 38, Saudi Arabia and the nations of western Europe and the USA appear to be allied. That would put them at odds, or at the least neutral, with the confederacy of nations listed in Ezekiel 38 as allied with Russia, called the land of Magog in that chapter.
Psalm 83 details the record of a war that will occur with Israel and her neighboring enemies, in which Israel wins a mighty victory, incurring a large swath of land. This will allow Israel to breathe in peace a little, knowing their borders are enlarged and their peace is a little more secure. This new land of theirs will include Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq. This will leave Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey as border countries with Israel in the Middle East, and the countries of northern Africa bordering the land Israel will be in possession of, formerly belonging to Egypt. This will also mean that lucrative natural gas and oil pipelines and reserve deposits that those nations, along with Russia, have both fought and bought, will be under the control of Israel.
Currently, Iran, Russia, and Turkey are all involved, along with other nations including our own, in the fighting in Syria. Isaiah 17:1-3 tell us that Damascus, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, will cease to be a city, and become like the glory of the children of Israel. This implies that Israel will destroy Damascus and take possession of the land that it is capital of, Syria. This will occur during the battle detailed in Psalm 83, which places much of the Middle East under Israeli control. This will both infuriate and frustrate the nations listed in Ezekiel 38 and 39, all of whom are currently aligned financially, bound by the need of both the natural resources found in Israel's new land for their own use and the financial gain they would provide. When this takes place, it will not be long before they invade this new territory of Israel.
Ezekiel 38 tells that Russia and the confederation of nations aligned with them, will come to Israel in a time of peace, for the purpose of taking spoil. Sheba and Dedan, which is Saudi Arabia, along with the merchants of Tarshish, which is Europe, and the young lions, which could be the USA, will ask if they come to take a spoil but will not intervene. They will wait to reap financial gain from both victor and victim. God Himself will give Israel victory. After this supernatural victory, the antichrist will present Israel with a promise of peace, the promise Jesus said in Matthew 24 would be followed by tribulation such as the world has never seen. That's saying a lot, considering the world saw a global flood that killed all terrestrial life save Noah and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth and the animals inside the Ark.
The confirmation of peace given by the antichrist will begin the tribulation Jesus spoke of. Three and a half years of pseudo peace followed by, as Jesus described it, great tribulation. The removal of the Church, the Bride of Christ will occur right around this time. This will be a great deliverance for the believers. It will also be a shifting of the stage globally. All eyes will now be on Israel. As we see today, much of the global market is focused on the Middle East. Armies are positioned by their governments in this area on purpose. There is great wealth to be had, great power to be wielded by the one who controls this area. Why? It is because God chose that land to place both His Name and the people that bear the testimony of His goodness, the children of Abraham, the sons of Jacob, Israel. The land is rich in natural resources. The enemy, Lucifer, hates that land because it will be from Israel, namely Jerusalem, that Jesus will set His throne and rule this earth for one thousand years.
With all of this in mind, can you see how close we are to the end of things as we know them? Stop being wrapped up in worldly affairs that profit nothing eternally. Stop living in vanity and pride and begin seeking the will of the Lord. He is coming soon. He is not coming for the rich, influential, successful, cosmopolitan believer that has carved a niche in this secular, carnal world. He is coming for the obedient, faithful follower of His Word, the one led by the Holy Spirit, the one working for the Kingdom of God. Are you ready should the Savior call today? Would He say well done or go away? His home is for the pure, the vile can never stay. Will you fear the King when He comes?