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Do you have a teachable spirit? Do you yearn to grow in maturity and walk closer with God? Scripture is replete with encouragement for us to develop a life of learning. It’s clear that doesn’t mean a life with our heads completely buried in books, even the Bible. God is more creative than that! Sometimes learning is just plain hard work, but God also provides an assortment of creative ways to learn and grow–enough to keep us on our toes, hold our attention and motivate any personality or learning style.
The older we get, the more most of us realize the value of having people around who are continually open to letting God teach them new things. Do you know people like that? They haven’t reached perfection or even pretend it’s possible, but they have a humble and teachable spirit no matter how long they’ve known Christ.
Like all of us, those individuals sin and make mistakes from time to time. But what makes such an individual stand out is that he or she openly recognizes the weaknesses and sees them as opportunities for God to teach and pour out His strength and grace. It’s also those people to whom we feel comfortable approaching when we’ve goofed up. You won’t get a lecture or a wagging finger, but you’ll probably get someone who can relate to you, pray with you and encourage you along the right path.
As time goes on, we realize it’s not the person striving for perfection who makes a good friend, but one who is asking God to change him or her to become more and more like Christ. This person is constrained by the Holy Spirit, while open to His power. A teachable spirit means a humble spirit because it says, “I don’t have this all figured out. I need God and I need to continually be transformed.” What a refreshment to be around such a person!
Is that the kind of person you long to be? What does God’s Word have to say about having a teachable spirit? There are over 100 times it encourages the art of learning. On the links provided below you’ll find a brief look at what God has to say about cultivating a life of learning and growing. Allow God’s Word to speak for itself while you pray for Him to open your heart to grow in seven important areas of learning:
As you read, ask the Lord if there’s an area or two where you especially need growth. Contact Spiritual Life & Growth Ministries at 763-536-3226 to learn more.
The Study of Scripture
The Lord tells us that His Word is alive and active. It has great power to teach, direct, encourage and admonish. Andrew Murray said it this way: “As the Word of the Living God, it is a living Word and gives life. It not only calls into existence, but even makes alive again that which is dead. Its quickening power can raise dead bodies, can give eternal life to dead souls. All spiritual life comes through it, for we are born of incorruptible seed by the Word of God that liveth and abideth forever” (Andrew Murray, “The Inner Life”). Are there areas of your life and heart that feel dead to you? The Word of God has the power to resurrect them to new and revitalized life! (See Ezekiel 37 for one example of how God revived His people whose faith had literally dried up.)
“For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” –Hebrews 4:12 NIV
“But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the Holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.” 2 Timothy 3:14-17 MSG
“Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9
Also see Deuteronomy 8:3, 17:19; Proverbs 4:21; Psalm 119:24; Colossians 3:16.
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Life Experience
Life is like a great classroom. God uses our experiences and circumstances to teach us and help us mature in our faith and character. Let’s never weary of letting Him speak to us through the common, ordinary things of life, as well as the miraculous. Even as you experience times of discipline and repentance, recognize that God may graciously desire to pour out His grace on you as He teaches and reproves. Ask Him to open your eyes and heart to take in all He wants to show you as you live out your life.
“Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights.” –Proverbs 18:15 MSG
“If you love learning, you love the discipline that goes with it–how shortsighted to refuse correction!” –Proverbs 12:1 MSG
“Over and over God rescued them, but they never learned–until finally their sins destroyed them.” –Psalm 106:43 MSG
Also see Job 8:9; Ecclesiastes 7:2.
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The Experience of Others: Role Models/Wise Counsel/History
“ To grow in your quiet time, it is important to develop friendships with those who are also committed to knowing God. Those people are few and far between. There are so many in the church today who are dabblers. A little bit here, a little bit there. Every now and then, you will find those rare friends who have engaged in the pursuit of God. They are the ones who are experiencing the great adventure of knowing God. And they will be the ones to challenge you to grow in your quiet time with God. They will ask you, “What is God teaching you?” You need friends like that.” (“Revive My Heart,” by Catherine Martin; pg. 55; ©2003 NavPress)
God did not design us to live life on our own. We need a community of believers around us to help keep us on track and encourage us in the faith. While we ultimately must take all counsel we receive to the Lord to confirm, He will provide wisdom through friends, family and mentors if we ask and are open to it. Don’t leave yourself vulnerable to the enemy’s schemes by living apart from meaningful and godly relationships. His Word also has a lot to say about learning from history. God continually directed His people to remember what took place in the past, learn from history and recall how He provided.
“Put the question to our ancestors, study what they learned from their ancestors.” –Job 8:8 MSG
“Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.” –Colossians 3:16 NLT
“Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel.” –Proverbs 27:9
See also Proverbs 15:22; Psalm 1:1, 78, 106:7, 111:1, 119:52, 143:5; I Corinthians 14:29-33; Colossians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 3:5; Job 34:4; Colossians 1:28; Deuteronomy 4:10; 1 Timothy 4:11-12, 16.
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Direct Teaching from God
“Quiet time with the Lord is not a complicated mystery. It is simply developing an intimate relationship with God. And it is not something that just happens. It is intentional. There is a learning curve that involves time and energy.” (“Revive My Heart,” by Catherine Martin; pg. 55; ©2003 NavPress)
Our God is the same God of the Bible who creatively spoke to His people in numerous ways. This age of intellect, prosperity and technology has led many to imagine they’re beyond needing to hear from God. Others of us are often just too caught up in the busyness of life to sit still enough to hear His voice. Dallas Willard says, “Frankly, there is abroad in the world today, and very strongly present in conservative religious circles, a position we may aptly characterize as ‘Bible deism’…[It] holds that God gave us the Bible and then went away, leaving us to make what we could of it, with no individualized communication through the Bible or otherwise” (Dallas Willard, “In Search of Guidance: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God; San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993; pp. 110-111). If you’ve found it difficult to hear from God, prioritize finding times of solitude with Him in the coming months. Ask God to teach you to hear Him in new ways and then keep your eyes open!
“True wisdom and real power belong to God; from him we learn how to live, and also what to live for.” – Job 12:13 MSG
“We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.” –1 Corinthians 2:13
“Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.” –Ephesians 5:2 MSG
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” – James 1:5 NIV
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” –Psalm 32:8
See also Isaiah 28:23, 29, and 30:21; Psalm 16:7, 73:24; Ephesians 1:17 and 5:1; Hebrews 8:11; Matthew 11:29; John 6:45; Colossians 1:9-12.
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Learning through Suffering
“ When life seems impossible, can your relationship with God make a difference? Your circumstances, your need, is the very platform for God’s reviving work in your heart. (“Revive My Heart,” by Catherine Martin; pg. 48; ©2003 NavPress)
In his best seller, “The Purpose Driven Life,” Rick Warren says, “It is during suffering that we learn to pray our most authentic, heartfelt, honest-to-God prayers. When we’re in pain, we don’t have the energy for superficial prayers.” As painful as those times might be, let’s not miss out on the refining work of the Holy Spirit. Let Him work through the hurt, anger, bitterness, resentment or pain. Only He can revive, transform and make something precious out of those struggles.
“Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do.” –Hebrews 5:8 MSG
“My troubles turned out all for the best–they forced me to learn from your textbook.” –Psalm 119:71 MSG
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” –James 1:2-5
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:6, 7
See also Deuteronomy 8:3; Psalm 34:18; Job 36:15; 2 Corinthians 4:17; 2 Peter 2:7-9.
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Developing a Humble Heart
Rick Warren says it so well, “It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by His purpose and for His purpose.” (pg. 17) We’ve got to set out with a heart that has this in perspective. And while we can pray for a humble heart, it then usually comes out of making a series of choices of humility over time. This is the soil from which wisdom and learning grow.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” –1 Corinthians 10:31
“Start with God. The first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.” –Proverbs 1:7 MSG
“Fear-of-God is a school in skilled living–first you learn humility, then you experience glory.” –Proverbs 15:33 MSG
“If you want to live well, make sure you understand all of this. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll learn this inside and out. God’s paths get you where you want to go. Right-living people walk them easily; wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.” –Hosea 14:9 MSG
“Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.” –Romans 8:6 MSG
See also Ecclesiastes 5:1; Proverbs 9:10; Isaiah 43:6-7.
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Putting Lessons Into Action
All we learn makes little difference unless it produces change and flows out of our lives in godly ways. Using our gifts, building relationships and walking in obedience can sometimes mean treading on new ground, out of our comfort zones. Oh, but those are precisely the places where God’s glory shines brightest! Trust Him in that new territory. When you do, His peace will be your closest companion.
“Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it?” –James 2:14 MSG
“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” –Philippians 4:9 NIV
“Truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon.” –Ephesians 6:17 MSG
See also Colossians 1:10; Proverbs 24:32; Deuteronomy 5:1; 8:3 and 17:19.
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©Lisa Reiland, New Hope Church
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