LEARNING TO LEAN

 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I recall a chorus that we used to sing in church years ago that said,

I'm learning to lean, learning to lean,
Learning to lean on Jesus.
Finding more power than I'd ever dreamed,
I'm learning to lean on Jesus.  (John Stallings)

That is a lifestyle aligned with the truth of Proverbs 3:5-6 and one that demands to be adopted by all those who claim to follow Christ.

It is a call for DEPENDENCE on God, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart” (v.5a).  Upon whom or what are you leaning right now?  God is the only subject worthy of our dependence.  He is invincible in His power, indescribable in His knowledge, immeasurable in His love, and immutable in His character—and so infinitely trustworthy.  That cannot be said of any other person—even the best of people. 

There is also the call for DENIAL of self-reliance, “And lean not on your own understanding” (v.5b).  How foolish it is to lean on our limited understanding when we can look to a limitless Lord who knows all things and understands the outcome of every course of action that might be taken.  This warning is needed because we are prone to self-reliance.  It is at the rotten core of the forbidden fruit of sin—a drive to be our own god and follow our own guidance.  We have received that default setting from our forefather Adam.  That folly leads only to futility.  Recognize that the Bible gives a prohibition of self-reliance.  This fence God puts up, marking self-reliance as “off-limits,” is for our protection.  The Old Testament character Jacob is the poster child of self-reliance.  He repeatedly leaned on his own understanding, and that brought him difficulty after difficulty, finally requiring God to break Him and bring him to desperation so that he would learn to lean (Gen.32:22-32).

Ultimately, this is a call for DEVOTION to God, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”  (v.6)  We are to be devoted in looking to God.  Let reliance on self be supplanted by resting in the Savior.  The demand is not to just look to Him in a moment of crisis, but as a matter of course.  We will be directed in looking to God.  That is the promise.  As the old hymn affirms, “He leadeth me! O blessed thought!”

The Spirit of God speaks by the Word of God.  Open the Book, and entreat Him to show you His way!  God responds to such a humble desire with heavenly direction.  Let us learn to lean on Jesus!