Every morning as I arrive at school, I walk into my room, set down my computer bag, and plop into my chair. When each class arrives, I take my place seated behind the teacher’s podium and begin my lesson.
During the hour, it’s not uncommon for me to get up and walk to the whiteboard and then return to my stool. I may even go back to my desk chair several times during each class. I depend on these chairs to do their job. You might say they’re my crutches.
But suppose I was a blind man and couldn’t see these chairs? With assistance, I could still find them. They would serve the same purpose and be just as dependable as when visible. My spiritual journey is similar. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV).
I base my journey with God on faith, not sight. Except for long-distance email relationships, all my interactions are with people I can see, touch, hear, feel, and sometimes smell. Even my email-only contacts can send me a picture, so I’ll know they’re real people. With God, it’s faith only. No sight permitted. Yet this doesn’t mean my relationship with him is a crutch.
After creating the first human, God said it wasn’t good for him to be alone. He created a companion for Adam.
Of all the companions I could have—and of all the relationships I could enter—the one with God is the most important. If a crutch is defined as something I depend on to get me through life’s tough episodes—the valleys and mountains—then yes, God is my crutch.
But the overtone shouldn’t be negative. We might summon enough fortitude to handle life without falling apart, but life is better when we let God help us deal with it. After all, God is our creator and knows our beginning, middle, and end. Knowing that the only sensible thing entails depending on the One who is stronger and more intelligent than we are.
Martin Wiles is an author, pastor, English teacher, and freelance editor who resides in Greenwood, South Carolina. He is the founder and editor of the internationally recognized website, Love Lines from God (www.lovelinesfromgod.com). Wiles is the Managing Editor for Christian Devotions, the Senior Editor for Inspire a Fire, a Proof Editor for Courier Publishing, and Assistant Editor for Vinewords.net. He has also served as Web Content Editor for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolina. Wiles has authored Don’t Just Live…Really Live (Ambassador International), A Whisper in the Woods: Quiet Escapes in a Noisy World (Ambassador International), Grits & Grace & God and Grits, Gumbo, and Going to Church (Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas), Morning By Morning, Morning Serenity, and Grace Greater Than Sin (America Star Books) and is a contributing author in Penned from the Heart (Son-Rise Publications), Rise (Chaplain Publishing), and Love Knots (Vine-Word Publishing). He has served as Regional Correspondent and Sunday school lesson writer for the Baptist Courier and has also written for Lifeway’s Bible Studies for Life curriculum. He has also been published in Christian Living in the Mature Years, Mature Living, Parenting Teens, Open Windows, Proclaim, Stand Firm, The Secret Place, The Word in Season, The Upper Room, The Upper Room Disciplines, Light from the Word, Reach Out Columbia, Mustard Seed Ministries, Journey Christian Newspaper, Common Ground Herald, The Quiet Hour, Power for Living, Halo Magazine, Joyful Living Magazine, Christian Broadcasting Network, Converge, Sharing, Today’s Christian Living, These Days, Plum Tree Tavern, Eskimo Pie, The Scarlet Leaf Review, Creation Illustrated, LIVE, Purpose Magazine, The Banner, Relevant, Bible Advocate, Reasons to Live, Author Magazine, and Lutheran Digest. Wiles has also written for the Bridges and Pathways Curriculum (Warner Press) and is a regular contributor to Christian Devotions, PCC Daily Devotions, Theology Mix, Inspire a Fire, The Write Conversation, Inkspirations, and VineWords and is a regular writer for the Dorchester County Eagle Record, the Orangeburg County Times and Democrat, and the Greenwood County Index Journal. Wiles has also served on faculty for the Asheville Christian Writer’s Conference. crat, and the Greenwood County Index Journal. Wiles also serves as the Managing Editor for Christian Devotions , the Senior Editor for Inspire a Fire, and as a Proof Editor for Courier Publishing. You can follow him @linesfromgod.
