Lean on Me
Our relationship with God is a relationship of faith. To speak of faith, we are speaking of trust: a willingness to lean upon or rely upon God who is real and available to us. If you sit on a park bench, it is because deep down, without thinking about it, you trust the structure of the bench to hold you up. Otherwise, you would not sit there. If you lean on a friend to help you with something tough to tackle on your own, it is a testament that you believe the friend is a reliable support for you. To believe in God is to have faith that God will do for you what no other can do.
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit. (Jeremiah 17:7-8)
This is full of imagery consistent with the Psalm 1, speaking of those who delight in the law and meditate upon it day and night: “They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither, everything they do shall prosper. ” Obviously, the prophet, Jeremiah, was very well versed in the psalms. It is an image of steady hydration and nourishment allowing the tree to flourish. It is an image of consistency and security.
Whereas the psalm is speaking about relating to God through the law of the Lord. Jeremiah speaks more along the lines of a direct, personal relationship of trust. Intrinsic to Isaiah’s prophetic word is the belief that God will be with you to supply what is needed in the dry spells. Anxiety is held off because of God’s faithfulness. We can lean on God.
This also reminds me of the words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:13. “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing, he will also provide a way out so you may be able to endure it.” Notice especially the three-word phrase, “God is faithful.” The writer to the Epistle to the Hebrews also gives us a related assurance: “Be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6)
It is worth meditating upon the reliability of God. The confidence that we can lean upon the Savior is at the heart of our human need and the health of our soul. We can take Jeremiah’s words and make them the center of our belief: Blessed (happy) are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.