I have had many teachers in my life, and I know I will have many more. I’ve had great teachers, terrible ones, and many who were somewhere in between. I think it’s interesting that some of the most impactful teachers in my life are people who may not even consider themselves teachers. They are those who walk with me, demonstrating through their lives what they are teaching me as they provide a safe space for mistakes and new starts. They are not those who criticize, condemn, and demand respect.
A friend and I were talking recently about how there are so many things in my walk as a believer in Christ that I don’t understand or don’t know. She was pointing out how grateful she is that we still have a rabbi, a teacher, in Jesus as He walks with us. We don’t have a God who has abandoned us to perform and figure it out on our own, but One who travels each step of the journey with us.
So often, I notice that people want to proclaim how much they know and how wise they are. I find myself recognizing how little I know the older I get. I have actually been freed up in that revelation quite a lot, as I don’t have to have all the answers (or pretend I do!) when someone asks me a question. I remember my friend Mike Wells telling me that he had just received the answer to a question he had asked God 25 years before. My first thought was, “It took 25 years to get an answer?!” I was a bit disappointed by that news. But then I realized that meant I didn’t need to have all the answers right now, as God would bring the information I need in the time I need it. That’s a relief!
Jesus as my teacher and rabbi means that I can trust Him to teach me all I need to know as we walk along. This is not a paralysis at all, but actually it allows me to walk forward not knowing everything because He will give me what I need when I need it. There are so many times I have shown up to a counseling session, an accounting nightmare, or a big project I’ve never done before. I don’t come courageous! I usually approach with fear and trepidation that I’m going to mess it up. But as I come with my empty bag and ask Jesus to fill it, He does, and I’m able to do things I couldn’t before. I have asked for help with so many things, and He is always faithful to walk with me through them.
Looking back at all that He has taught me doesn’t bring up a sense of entitlement or arrogance, but gratitude that He has shown up and brought what I need to be taught. He is a very good teacher and never criticizes or belittles. I love the verse below in James, where we are encouraged to ask for wisdom when we need it. We aren’t scolded over failures but overwhelmed with generous grace. And when we need faith to believe Him, we can ask Him for that too!
I do know for sure that what I think I need to learn is not often what He has decided to teach me! I’d love to learn to live with riches, with a beach house, and with perfection coming out of every pore! Ha! Instead, He often brings opportunities for me to be weak to realize my lack, to be utterly dependent, and to be unsure and in the dark about what to do moving forward. In that place, Jesus teaches me to rely on Him, waiting for Him to do the impossible in ways I never would have expected or even knew to ask.
And if anyone longs to be wise, ask God for wisdom and he will give it! He won’t see your lack of wisdom as an opportunity to scold you over your failures but he will overwhelm your failures with his generous grace. James 1:5
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Broken & Hopeful
Featured Image by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
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