“Learning to Leanâ€
(Judges 16:26; Song of Solomon 8:5; Micah 3:11; John 13:23; 21:20; Hebrews 11:21)
“Learning to lean / learning to leanâ€
(John Stallings, Learning to Lean, 1977)
We are all learning to lean on the Lord, to some degree and on some level. The Hebrew term, Adonai means, “my Lord.†If ever we’re going to learn to lean on the Lord, it must happen in a personal way. The point is, Adonai is the personal Lord of his people. It is this confidence that enables the believer to say with Psalmist: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name†(Psalm 103:1).
Learning to lean is a life with characteristics:
1. Adonai (“my Lordâ€) – Deuteronomy 4:35 read: “…that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides him.†This LORD is a personal God, and faith in this God is monotheistic. This is why it is even possible to lean on the Lord— He is God and He personally cares.
2. Jesus is Lord (John 20:28; Philippians 2:11).
3. This Lorship is the faith for all that would become a “Christian†(Acts 22:16).
Jacob, when dying, leaned upon his wooded staff in worship (Hebrews 11:21). Jesus, in dying, leaned upon the wooden tree in agony (1 Peter 2:24). The gospel of Christ encourages all men to lean on the Lord.
– Robert M. Housby