Thursday, September 28, 2017

Aggressive to Learn (Friday Devotional)


“Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way.”

- Psalm 25:8-9

Michael Jordan, asked once about his secret to success, didn’t give the answer you might expect. It wasn’t natural talent or stellar teammates or hard work that set him apart in his mind (though these all surely had a part to play.) “My best skill, he said, “was that I was coachable. I was a sponge and aggressive to learn.” Even the greatest basketball player of all time was always ready to learn more about the game.

That’s a lesson that every believer should take to heart in their walk with the Lord. After all, it’s easy, once you’ve learned all the important Bible verses and been a church member for a while, to mistakenly thinking you’ve got this Christianity thing all figured out. And when self-satisfaction sets in, it doesn’t take long for self-righteousness to follow.

The psalmist reminds us that God is, among many other things, our Teacher. Out of an abundance of grace, He “instructs sinners in the way,” guiding His frail creatures toward eternal life. What is required of us is the humility to be willing to learn. Teachability, an openness to God shaking up your preconceptions, does not indicate a weakness of character, but a desire to grow.

Every day you encounter situations, issues, controversies, and people that test you and force you to decide what matters to you. Faced with such tests, fight back against the defensive urge to plug your ears and close off your heart. God wants to see you grow in Him, and He just may be using those situations to show you a perspective you’ve never seen before, a new corner of the kingdom He needs you to see. God is always ready to be your Teacher, so may you always be ready to learn.

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