Be somebody people can lean on

This performance was from 1988. The song was originally a hit in 1972 for Bill Withers and hit #1 again in 1989 for a band called Club Nouveau. This version is by a Lutheran Elementary Principal, Paul Hill. I heard Hill when he spoke at a chapel at Concordia University in Nebraska back in the 90's.

Hill was a session musician before becoming a Christian school teacher. Legend has it that as a young man, he played back up on Jim Croce's "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown." After listening to it, his mother broke the gold record he'd received for it. Another is that he helped Bill Withers write Lean on Me. Whether he did or not, he did write additional verses (as you can hear in this video).

Paul Hill overcame a debilitating stutter to become a first grade teacher, and elementary principal, and a motivational speaker and musician. He explained that the only two times he didn't stutter at all, were while teaching first graders and singing.

I understand that he passed away in 2009. I only heard him the one time but a few things still influence me. That you can do all things with God's help (Philippians 4:13) no matter what challenges you face. Do everything you do for the Lord (Colossians 3:23) and, we should all do like this song says, and support others when they need it (1 Thessalonians 5:11). It seems to me that these three things can make life a whole lot better.

This song really speaks about what communities can and should be, encouraging, supportive, and nurturing. Whether you're a teacher or not, you can be available for others. Maybe as a mentor to someone younger, a mentee for someone older. Maybe as a sibling or cousin, niece or nephew. Maybe just as a friend or a neighbor. Can you listen? Can you be patient and positive? Do you have compassion or empathy? Then you can be some one that others can lean on.

Enlarge my territory

“Oh, that you would bless me indeed,
and enlarge my territory,
that your hand would be with me,
and that you would keep me from evil,
that I may not cause pain.”
~1 Chronicles 4:10 NKJV

So what does it mean to ask God to "expand your territory? Critics of Bruce Wilkinson's book The Jabez Prayer, feared that readers would try using this prayer as a get-rich-quick-scheme, as if God were some kind of Santa Claus who'll give you lots of STUFF.

But I think it's more like Saint Francis' prayer asking God to make him into His instrument.

"My willingness and weakness, plus God's will and supernatural power, equals... my expanded territory." ~Bruce Wilkinson, The Jabez Prayer

God wants to use you- to bless others, to pray for others, to help others, to challenge others.
We are our brother's keeper. Even if it's just offering a cold glass of water to a thirsty child, God wants us to be His hands and feet.

That's what expanding territory means, it means expanded responsibility.

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." ~Mother Teresa

But look what that tiny woman, Mother Teresa did! Once, when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed and inadequate my pastor told me something that has stuck with me for YEARS. He said "It's not how much YOU can do, its what the Holy Spirit can do THROUGH you!"

What a thrill to not just be safe in God's hands, but to be His tool while He goes about His handywork. Gives new meaning to the bumper sticker, "My boss is a Jewish carpenter," doesn't it?

But it can still be a little intimidating to think that God wants you to take on greater responsibility. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale suggested conditioning your mind with positive thinking by repeating Philippians 4:13 ten times a day.

Try it. It's bound to inspire confidence:

• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. ~NKJV
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Prayer:

"Lord,

Let me
make a difference
for You
that is
utterly
disproportionate
to who I am."

Amen

~John Piper