We Walk by Faith…Not by Crutch

Speaker: Pastor Darin Browne

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Life a full of ups and downs, highs and lows. The Bible calls us to trust in the Lord, with all our heart, and it warns us not to lean on our own understanding. The Hebrew word for trust is BATAH, which means to put your full weight on, to lean on, to lie down on, such as you relying on the sturdiness of your bed when you lie on it. It is so tempting to lean on our own understanding, on the things that we are comfortable with. When things go wrong, we usually reach not for the Bible, but for a crutch. We choose not to lean fully in God but accept a worldly substitute.

Crutches. Those awkward, underarm supports used when our legs can’t carry us. We’ve all seen them, and some of us have used them. But I want us to look beyond the physical tool and ask: What are the crutches in our lives?

Are they helping us heal? Or are they keeping us from walking in faith?

When the bottom drops out of your life, it’s as if God has removed every single crutch. Maybe you’ve had that experience. David in the Bible certainly did…

1 Samuel 19:10
And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

Following his success in slaying Goliath, David experienced some of the most challenging and bewildering years of his life. He took on Goliath, he triumphed, he was celebrated, but then over the next 15 years or so he had everything knocked out from under him. Persecuted as a criminal, on the run, desperation, despair, defeat. But David would learn far more in the cave than he ever did in the palace!

The Lord used this time to remove every crutch from him. God continually works to strip us of the things that we would put in His place to lean on instead of leaning on Him. He has a way of knowing which ones they are and taking them one by one.

WHAT IS A CRUTCH?

A crutch is anything that we lean on that is not God. Any time we lean on our own understanding, that’s a crutch. Our knowledge, our job, our house, our own opinion or understanding, all of these are crutches. Alcohol, drugs, sex, they can be crutches too. Even success, business, even your family or spouse can become a crutch.

As children, we lean on our parents, and that’s understandable. As we grow, we lean on our peers or education or the hope of some position. In adulthood, we often lean on our job or our spouse.

It’s painful to have those crutches removed. But I want to suggest several reasons why we need God to remove our dependence on them.

God continually works to strip us of the things that we would put in His place. This can be the most painful experience on earth. So, here’s a few things about crutches…

1: CRUTCHES ARE NOT A SIGN OF WEAKNESS, THEY ARE A SIGN OF INJURY

Too often, people hear “crutch” and think it means you’re weak. But a crutch is not for the weak – it’s for the wounded. It means you’re hurt, not helpless. A crutch helps us move when we otherwise couldn’t. It supports us during our rehabilitation, until we are strong enough to walk unaided. And that’s okay – for a time. God doesn’t shame the wounded. Jesus Himself said…

Luke 5:31
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”

God meets us where we are, even when we’re limping.

2: CRUTCHES CAN BECOME SUBSTITUTES

Crutches can become substitutes for the Lord. God wants us to lean on Him, not substitute Him with a crutch, however noble that crutch might seem. God promises…

Deuteronomy 33:27
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

As long as we’re leaning on some other thing, we’re not leaning on God.

3: CRUTCHES ONLY OFFER TEMPORARY RELIEF

A crutch is not meant to be a lifestyle – it’s a bridge to recovery. Some of us have made permanent homes in temporary places. We lean on money, achievements, people, or distractions – anything to keep us moving. But over time, those supports wear down, and they start to hurt more than help.

Crutches offer only temporary relief. Only faith in God can give us lasting peace in our difficulties. When we are suffering, and we feel like we need a crutch to get us through, God wants us to turn to Him. He says…

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Sometimes, God doesn’t remove the pain, He gives you something better: His presence, His grace, and His strength. You don’t need to lean on a crutch when you can truly lean on Him!

4: CRUTCHES SLOW US DOWN

No one goes into an Olympic race on crutches. They limit you, and they slow you down. Crutches serve temporary roles, but ultimately, they slow down reaching your potential.

1 Corinthians 6:12
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.

Crutches, bad or good, never allow you to become the person God intended you to be, so even if the crutch is lawful, you must not let it dominate you.

5: CRUTCHES STOP US DEVELOPING

Romans 5:3-4
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Crutches give temporary relief, but they arrest the development of character. They are meant to be temporary. We mistakenly think that our comfort is highest on God’s list of priorities for our lives, but character is higher, and Christlikeness is at the top. And this often involves pain!

Martin Luther knew his life was in danger: He was being hunted by the authorities of the established church. His friends, wanting to put him in a place of safety, hid him away in a fortress on a mountain. While Luther was there, ironically, he despaired. Even though everything around him was physically secure, he felt lost and hopeless.

He chose to leave the castle and its safety and enter the mainstream of life again without any security or certainty. Knowing that his life was in danger, he penned these familiar words: “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.” Those lyrics didn’t come to him while he was hiding out in the security of a mountain fortress but when Luther’s only security was God Himself.

6: CRUTCHES KEEP OUR FOCUS HORIZONTAL

Crutches keep our focus horizontal. When we lean on other people or things, or substances, or feelings, our focus is horizontal (on them) and not vertical (on God). We start to rely on that nice, secure bank account, or that rich friend, or that next drink, or that feeling of success. We can always fall back on them. Those things keep our focus horizontal, and they paralyse our walks of faith.

2 Corinthians 4:18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

You can choose to let your difficulties and trials drive you to a crutch or drive you to a God who loves and cares for you. You can choose what you fix your eyes on.

WHEN CRUTCHES ARE REMOVED

Some of you here are in the process of having your crutches removed, and it’s like having a tooth pulled – a lot of pain and blood are involved in having those things torn from us. It hurts deeply. Being stripped of all substitutes is on for the most painful experiences on earth.

So now you have a choice: you can find something else to grab onto for security, or you can stop leaning on people or things and learn to lean on God and God alone. When will we learn that He is the only One who can support us?

Psalms 55:22
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

FAITH IS NOT A CRUTCH, IT’S A CURE!

You may have heard critics say, “Religion is just a crutch for the weak.” Let them say it.

Because if faith is a crutch, then it’s the only crutch that doesn’t just support – it heals.

Jesus didn’t send His Holy Spirit just to help us limp – He came to help us walk and even run again.

Ephesians 4:1-2
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

If you feel like your walk with God is hobbling, it’s time for you to be set free to walk, even run.

Faith in Christ is not about leaning forever – it’s about being restored.

Joel 2:25

I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,

Some have been on crutches for a long time, even years, but my God is in the business of restoring the wasted years. It’s time to stand up and walk in the Spirit.

IT’S TIME TO LET GO OF WHAT YOU’RE LEANING ON

What are you holding on to instead of holding on to God?

• Some of us are leaning on control, and it’s exhausting.
• Some of us are leaning on past success, but the ground has shifted.
• Some of us are leaning on people who are just as broken as we are.
• Some of us are leaning on substances or experiences that numb the pain briefly but will never solve our problems.

Your crutch that may once have been helpful may now be holding you back.

Don’t be ashamed if you’re leaning on a crutch. But don’t settle there, either. God wants to heal you, restore you, and teach you to walk by faith, not by crutch (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Let Him be your strength where you are weak. Let Him be your Healer, not just your helper.

So, if you’re still on crutches, spiritually or emotionally – that’s okay.

Just know: Jesus is ready to help you walk again.

We started with this verse…

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

In the same chapter Solomon wrote…

Proverbs 3:13
Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,

You may not have grown up in a home that promoted wisdom. You may have had good parents that were not wise, or you may have rejected parental wisdom. The first thing to do is to not be resentful of what you think others got and you missed out on. Instead, forgive your parents, and turn to the Word of God, because He can give all the wisdom you need if you ask Him.

James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

I call you to trust in the Lord and not lean on your own understanding. How is God asking you to trust Him today, instead of your own limited intellect?

Have you ever visited a cave, and the guide turns out the light and plunges you into utter darkness? You panic for a moment, but then you reach out to someone you love, and they grab your hand. Once you feel their hand, panic subsides and trust builds. That what He is offering you today. To lean on Him, not on your own understanding.

Isaiah 50:10
Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.