Staying Teachable
2 Timothy 2:15 - Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.
Over the last 6 months God has driven home for me our need to remain teachable, especially in areas where we believe we believe we have learned everything there is to learn. Last December God revealed a lack of understanding I had about a verse of Scripture I had prayed over and meditated upon for 12 years, probably hundreds of times. The verse in question was Isaiah 43:19 and in particular, it was the phrase “now it will spring forth.” Until December of 2018, I had understood those words to have an instantaneous meaning of “now you don’t see it and now you do see it.” It wasn’t here and now it is here. However what God showed me was, in the original, this was an agricultural term used to describe how a plant grows and emerges from underground, an event that unfolds over many days. The plant exists in seed form underground, germinates, begins to grow and after many days of invisible growth slowly emerges as a small shoot. It then eventually grows into a fully mature plant. This new understanding was very significant as it changed completely one of God’s promises to me and how I was to understand its fulfillment.
More recently I was doing some study on Psalm 46:10, where the Psalmist writes the famous phrase “be still and know that I am God.” This verse is very familiar to me and I have used it many times while on retreat to help facilitate physical stillness. The New American Standard Translation comes closer to the original meaning in the Hebrew when it translates the phrase “cease striving” and know that I am God. But it was just a few weeks ago I discovered a more accurate meaning. In the course of studying it again, I found out that the Hebrew word we translate “be still” carries with it the connotation of surrender. In addition, grammatically in the way the rest of the phrase is set up we find there is a causal connection between the being still or surrendering and knowing (experiencing) God as He really is. It changes the meaning entirely from physical rest to finding spiritual rest in surrender and the resulting experience of knowing God as He really is, not just as we perceive Him.
Finally, there was the discovery of a new application of the concept of repentance. In Matthew 3:2, John the Baptist was preaching, “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As the forerunner to Jesus, John was calling the people of His day to turn from their sin and receive Jesus as the promised Messiah. As a result, the common understanding is repentance defined as turning from one’s sin and embracing righteousness. Again, this is not an incorrect application but it is an application of the term’s meaning which is more literally “change the way you think.” To repent is at its core meaning, to change the way you think, and in this particular context, it is to change the way you think about sin. But it can also be applied more generally to life in recognition that we entertain a variety of lies and ungodly beliefs about many aspects of our lives. In the area of healing, for instance, we might believe that God can’t heal a particular condition because we have never seen or experienced God doing that. To repent in this arena would be to turn it around and say I know that nothing is impossible for God and I am going to pray in accordance with God’s truth rather than my experience.
As we seek to follow Jesus and walk in the Kingdom of God, we need to hear what Jesus is really saying to us at any given time. Whether He is speaking to us through our study of His Word, through dreams, prayer or in the receiving of prophetic words. It is also important to remember the three steps of revelation, interpretation, and application. Revelation is what Jesus says, no more and no less, interpretation is what Jesus means by what He says, and application is how this truth applies to me at this time. Each area has its own opportunities for error or continued growth in understanding.
By way of application, ask the Holy Spirit to show you any places where your current understanding is incomplete or in error. You also might ask new questions of the text that will lead to a fuller or different understanding and application. God’s revelation is progressive, ever unfolding in accordance with our current levels of knowledge, maturity, and circumstances. Embrace the calling of “a workman who does not need to be ashamed” and you will continue to grow in Christlikeness as you handle accurately the word of truth.
Author
Pastor Bruce is the Executive Director of God's Living Stones. He lives in Omaha, NE, with his wife Barb. They have two adult children.
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