Proverbs 5:13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors

I shudder when I think about how I treated my teachers at secondary school. I remember in my Chemistry class setting a coil of magnesium on fire and putting it in the desk drawer. It burnt through the desk drawer and set off the fire alarm and emptied the school. I don’t think that’s the proper understanding of being a light in a dark place.

I spilled a full bottle of “stink bomb” fluid in my English class and again emptied the department. I skipped classes, came in late, left early and was disrespectful over and over. I lost count of how many times I got six of the belt and I had my own seat in the detention class.

But to be fair, it’s not necessarily those sorts of teachers that this scripture is leaning us towards considering.

As we truly think about what this scripture is saying, then what conviction comes with this small statement.

I can ask myself now, who has been positioned in my life, to instruct and teach me? The Holy Spirit is the lead instructor for sure, but God will also have strategically placed others in my life for my benefit and blessing, so that I may become more like him [Jesus].

Sometimes these people may not be what I think they will be, they may be people who challenge us, or irritate us, or even cause us to get angry.

What is coming to the surface right now as you think about these people in your life?  That’s the very stuff that God wants us to hand over so that we can become more like him. These are the very areas the Holy Spirit wants to bring transformation to us.

Why?

So that you may become more like Jesus so that none will be lost.

Maybe even so that “all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes”?

Who has God strategically positioned in your life to help you become more like Jesus?

 

KNOWLEDGE

We can catch the tones of regret, the self remonstrations and despair that are closing in on this person. Everywhere they look, they only see trouble, they sense the impending loss, the trouble that is stalking them like the Hound of the Baskerville in the famous Sherlock Home’s movie. The mood is foggy, the atmosphere is suspicious and the situation is tense. We can’t really see or name the threat, but we hear it, we sense it, we know it’s there.

The person described here is fully aware of the situation and is focused on all the things they have not done, not taken part in, and not paid any heed to. When we find our focus is on what we don’t have, what we haven’t done, or what we are missing, we know that there is an issue. We can take our own spiritual temperature, and make an accurate diagnosis – we have taken our focus off Jesus, and placed it onto self – self-interest, self-advancement, self-promotion, and selfishness.

Perhaps we need a fresh revelation of the cross and a greater awareness of our own dreadfully lost state without Jesus.

Consider what He has done for you – the cost to him – list the things he has forgiven you for, not only forgiven but cleansed you and set you apart for His Glory – and there’s the rub – for His Glory.

Consider what he is calling you to do – does it involve hardships; long journeys (literal or figurative); going without sleep at times;  feeling betrayed by those who should be helping to you;  having no-where to call home;  getting up early in the morning to seek God before anyone else;  staying up late ministering when you are exhausted;  going without lunch at times;  feeling like no-one understands;  being separated from your family; being falsely accused; feeling isolated or on your own?

Welcome to ministry!

• 1 Peter 4:13 – But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
• Phil 3:10 – that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
• Matt 16:24 – Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
• 2 Corinth 1:5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.

Don’t give up doing good……Don’t throw in the towel…….Don’t walk away………

Gal 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

 

UNDERSTANDING

Let’s pick one word from this verse to look closer at and see if that can help us gain a deeper insight into how God would love us to live?

The word for “teacher” in Hebrew is pronounced “moreh” and this word appears three times in the Old Testament. One time it is translated in the ESV to “teachers” and twice the translation is “early rain”.

The meaning that we see for ourselves in verse 13, is actually from the word “archer”, as in one who helps us hit the mark.

WISDOM – How do you remind yourself of God’s call and God’s promises to you?

STRENGTHS THOUGHT: Learner seeks out those further down the track, loves the hard yards of collaboration, and understands the cost of growth. It loves to share what it knows and will invest wholeheartedly into others success, changing culture, mindsets and futures.

Allan’s Unauthorised Version – [I plan not to understand when I hear my instructors calling aloud and proclaiming, and I do not extend myself to learn or to be trained by them.]

PRAYER: Father, thank you for today. Help me to not miss anything you have for me, and to keep my focus on you and your goodness today. Thank you!

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