Recently, my best friends and I watched The Lorax, and a quote stuck out to us that I have thought about nearly every day since: “a tree falls the way it leans. Be careful which way you lean.” Because it has been on my mind so much, I took that as an indication to sit and contemplate a little deeper. Today, you will join me in that process.

When I think of the word lean, these are the immediate uses that come to mind:

• We hear the term “leaning” used to describe people and their political affiliation.
• We talk about being able to lean on somebody.
• God says not to lean on our own understanding.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

What are we leaning into throughout our day? Who are we leaning on for support, advice, or following their example? These decisions may seem so small and meaningless in the moment but over time a slight lean becomes more and more pronounced into a fully new direction.

Imagine you’re lost deep in a forest, but you know that your cabin is directly due North. Every step you take that is even one degree off gets you further and further away from home. Using math, if you travel just one degree off from due North, after 10 kilometers, you will be approximately 174 meters off course. That’s almost two football field lengths! That is the power of a lean.

Who and what we lean towards throughout our days will impact our mood, decisions, trains of thought and entire perspectives. Sometimes it can be difficult to discern where we should lean but a lot of the time, I think if we just took one step back to observe ourselves, we’d had a pretty clear understanding if our activity, decision, etc., is leaning toward God or away from Him.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

Choose the path less travelled; the narrow path that few take. The verse from earlier, Proverbs 3:5-6, tells us that leaning into God will keep our path in the right direction. His Word is our compass.

“Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless. What they trust in is fragile; what they rely on is a spider’s web. They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold.” Job 8:13-15