Lean on Me

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Julius Caesar may have been a military genius, a great statesman, and author, but his zoology left a lot to be desired. Here is a description of some animals he saw in a German forest… 

“There are also those which are called elk, the shape of which resembles a goat and whose coat varies in color. Their size somewhat surpasses [the animals mentioned earlier on in the passage], their horns are chopped off, and they have legs without joints–so neither can they lie down for the sake of a rest, and if, by unfortunate happenstance, they are caused to fall over, the poor jointless elk are unable to stand up. The trees are their beds, onto which they lean themselves, and in this reclining position they seek quiescence. When a hunter comes upon the trail of these creatures, he makes it a practice to take all of the trees in the area and either uproot them or cut them just enough so that they are left standing. When the elk lean, out of habit, against the unstable trees, the weight of the elk knocks over the tree which, in due course, kills the elk.” —Excerpt from Julius Caesar’s Commentary on The Gallic Wars, translated by Jacob Glover

Israel’s King Solomon, on the other hand, was a very wise man. He was granted wisdom like no one else. Scripture records, “God gave Solomon wisdom, very great insight, and understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore” [1 Kings 4:29]. The list of his knowledge and understanding is impressive. He was an architect, arbitrator, administration, botanist, composer, herpetologist, ichthyologist, ornithologist, poet, philosopher, preacher, and zoologist according to 1 Kings 4:32-33. It seems there is very little that Solomon was unable to understand or explain. 

That’s why we are stunned when he said we can’t lean solely on our understanding, expecting it to hold us up. When we do that, we’re similar to Caesar’s understanding of elk leaning on a weak tree. In other words, human understanding will inevitably give way. 

We need something stronger to lean on. One songwriter had it right. He said,

What have I to dread

What have I to fear

Leaning on the everlasting arms

Solomon essentially said the same thing. He wrote that we shouldn’t lean on our own understanding, but in all things acknowledge God [Proverbs 3:5-6]. God has infallible answers to life’s most important issues. No matter what situation we may face in life, we can always be confident that we’re on the right path when we’re leaning on the Lord.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. Proverbs 3:5-6