Learning to Lean
Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:8-11
For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.
There is an old song containing the lyrics: Learning to lean, learning to lean, I’m learning to lean on Jesus. It might have been written based on this text of Scripture. Paul was learning to lean through the trouble that came to him. He says he, and those with him, “were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life…”
Whatever the specific problems they faced, they were serious. Life-threatening, even.
Paul says that the reason God allowed them to go through this trouble was so that they might not “trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.”
It would be nice if reliance on God was our natural response to all of life’s challenges. Sadly, our default mode is usually self-reliance. And often the only way to get free from self-reliance is to face something too big for us to handle. We must be pushed to trust.
Even Paul, with all of his experience with Christ, years of ministry, and theological understanding had to be taught trust through trials. He too would have been able to sing, “Learning to lean.”
Lord, teach us to rely on you and not on ourselves. Help us to fully trust in your wisdom, your ways, your words, and your work. Give us grace to learn to lean on Jesus.
