Teachable Spirit?

Well, it has been a long week, and I see that I haven't blogged at all. Life seems to be filled with little adventures that seem innocuous enough going into them --- but then turn into stressful, all-consuming ordeals. I guess my last week was a little like that. It seemed that everything which could go wrong did. Consequently, I found that even those things which did not go wrong were hard to enjoy. What's up with that?

I've been doing some reading and reflecting during this time. I have, for years, had a passion for Philippians 4:13, which says, "I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength." There are some other verses in Scripture that seem to echo this message. 2 Corinthians 2:14 says, "... God, who always leads us in triumphal procession ..." Of course, then there's Galatians 2:20, which says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, ..."

You know, you read these things and you believe them. But sometimes you just don't seem to feel them. As Christians, we know that we have what it takes from within --- God Himself --- to experience total victory in every conceivable struggle. So how is it that routine circumstances of the day can still leave me feeling completely undone? How can someone who can do all things through Christ who gives him strength still, at times, find ordinary circumstances such a challenge? I tell you, it just doesn't make sense!

I've been reading about Jonah. (You know, he's the guy who spent three days in the whale.) You see, this guy got undone by the circumstances he found himself in. Granted, his circumstances may not have been what we would call ordinary. Nevertheless, he could do all things --- just like we can. In Jonah 4:3, we see him telling God to, "... take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." Somehow, his circumstances carried him to a place where he could not worship God. No praise, no desire to live. A coincidence? I think not. Rather I believe that the person who is unable to praise God is probably living life from the wrong perspective. And I have to confess that at times I am that person!

Jonah seemed to have some distinct problems. I wonder to what extent I have those same problems. And I pray that I don't find myself in the belly of a whale because of them! Let's look at one of Jonah's (and maybe one of Larry's) problems. He had an unteachable spirit.

Jonah had learned a lot about God. He know about God for others, and could share God with others. But he seemed to not know God for himself. You see, Jonah pursued knowledge of the Lord earnestly. But in the process, he became so full of himself that he couldn't be taught the same grace, compassion, love and slowness to anger that God had him teaching to others. Unteachable people are like that. They accumulate knowledge about God, but somehow they don't grasp the knowledge of God for themselves. They have unteachable spirits.

I've studied about unteachable spirits and it seems that the remedy is to meditate on what I know about God before Him. In other words, I can journal and pour out thoughts of my own --- rather than reading and taking in the thoughts of others. And I can do this with God in contemplative prayer so that He guides my thinking. He refines my knowledge so that it becomes useful for my own living.

I think that's good. It's so easy to think that because I teach something I believe it. But those days when I become undone are evidence that I must learn God's truth all over again, and again and again. Because the truths about God are infinite, there's always more of it to know. So it seems that through this process, a teachable person will get beyond knowing about God, will know him for themselves and will overflow in worship to God. Sometimes I do that. But not all times. I guess a truly unteachable person would never get there. So maybe I'm not totally unteachable and I need to take hope in that!

My prayer today is just this, "God, Father in Heaven. You are my everything. I want to know You more. If I have nothing else in life, I want to know You more. I can't for the life of me comprehend why I lose that truth from time to time. I seem to get distracted by the circumstances of daily living. And I overlook the fact that I can do all things through Christ who lives in me. I stop expecting triumph and stop acting like the victorious conqueror that You made me to be. Forgive me for that, Lord. I am truly sorry for these times in my life. Help me to walk away from them, and to be mindful of who I am in Christ no matter what my day looks like. These things I pray in Jesus' name. Amen."