I think this post will wander around a bit, we’ll see if the Father will speak to us somehow.
I really think our lives are made up of the decisions we’re making. At least, it sometimes sees that way.
Some decisions are like ‘forks’ in the road. They’re made and then they shunt us in another direction. Most are minor–(will it be McDonalds or Pizza Hut?) But the biggies really alter us–very quickly we see that the road is going to take us in a radically different path.
Sometimes, if we’re honest, we will admit to backtracking; retracing our route back to the point we turned. A lot of time it’s too late, and the moment has past. But we will sometimes learn that sometimes even our detours are part of the journey. (Amazing, isn’t? But He controls it all, and that’s comforting.)
I think I’m starting to learn how to receive correction from others.
I’ve been mulling over the decision of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:30-31, he wanted to understand the truth:
“So when Philip ran toward the chariot, he heard the man reading from Isaiah the prophet [on his Kindle]. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 He answered, “How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?” Then he invited Philip to climb in and sit with him.”
We see here such a very ‘thoughtful humbleness’– a teachableness of the heart that this eunuch seems to have learned. He is confident enough in himself to acknowledge that he just doesn’t know. He invites Philip to a Bible study in the chariot.
We are responsible for our receptivity to truth.
It’s our personal decision to either seek or not seek, to learn, or not to learn. No one else can do this for us. We come to a decision point and we go the way things seem to direct us, or we don’t. Again, we must choose.
Sometimes to not make a decision, is a decision.
The book of Proverbs is saturated with ideas on being guided by our humility when it comes in contact with truth. Furthermore, there are many warnings about receiving correction and reproof gracefully. For me, I’m learning slowly to receive hard counsel.
When my wife and I made the decision to work in the migrant camps in Mexico there was one elder who kept saying “no!” At first it was a real issue for us. We sort of resented it. But we began to see the blessing of his resistance. It caused us to really analyze our decision, and “count the cost.” We were stepping into a very hard place, and we needed that voice. We were being called to break in “new ground.” It was to be a challenge.
It seems that scriptural truth is almost always negative when it’s first encountered. It often irritates more than it comforts.
It often will not sit well, and I will try to shake it off. But truth can be remarkably persistent. ‘Forgive your brother’, the Holy Spirit says. And you say right away, ‘Not a chance!’ But, give it time, and the Word will soften rock. If you respond properly, humbly, you be able to make the right decision.
One more thing, Jesus told us in Matthew 18:3,
“I promise you this. If you don’t change and become like a child, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.”
We’ll need to be a complete alteration in our hearts if we are to accommodate His command. Becoming a child is more difficult as an adult– then becoming an adult is for a child. Becoming small again takes a great amount of brokenness and it’s never really mastered.
God fully intends to work with you in this.
God wants you to learn teachableness. He brings others to direct you. The Holy Spirit ignites the Word that’ll light your path. He doesn’t seem to ever give up. He is wonderfully persistent–He never really does give up.
“The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them.”
Proverbs 18:15, LB
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