What are you learning right now in God’s Word?
Are you living it out? Do you feel like you constantly fail to live out His truth?
Many people know me as John Avant’s wife—a mom, a grandmother, a writer, a speaker. But most don’t know that for many years, I worked as a speech/language pathologist in the public school system, serving 3- to 6-year-olds who struggled with speech and language challenges.
Helping a child discover they could communicate effectively was difficult at times but extremely fulfilling. I always knew my student understood the concept when I actually saw them using it to communicate with others effectively, not just as they sat in my classroom.
How do we know that we understand God’s Word and the principles laid out for us in Scripture? When we actually live out His Word in our everyday lives.
For example, we can listen to thousands of sermons about faith. However, until we actually make decisions based on obedience to God instead of ones based solely on reason and security, we really haven’t learned to walk by faith.
Recently, I have been struggling to make some decisions. The Lord brought me to this passage: “Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long” (Psalm 25:4-5 ESV).
As I studied this passage, I noticed that the word teach occurs twice. In Hebrew, “teach” doesn’t mean to sit in a classroom and convey a principle or idea. It means to be trained to live out a skill. It is interactive, not passive. That means sometimes I will mess up. And that’s okay! The Lord knows that we are learning and that we will fail sometimes.
This is why David declared, “You are the God of my salvation” (Psalm 25:5). We don’t achieve by trying harder, but by knowing Him more intimately and allowing His Spirit to empower us.
As I began to memorize the above passage, I was reminded of an old song by Rich Mullins:
Oh God, you are my God,
And I will ever praise You.
I will seek You in the morning.
I will learn to walk in Your ways.
And step by step You’ll lead me,
And I will follow You all of my days.
No matter our age, we need to continually learn His ways! And sometimes that means we will fail. Nonetheless, He will lead us step by step if we simply choose to follow Him.
What are you learning in your study of God’s Word? Are you actually living it out? To study God’s Word but not live it out is not what following Jesus is about. Following Jesus means learning His ways and then walking in them under the power of the Holy Spirit.
Be encouraged today that no matter your age, your position, or your title, you can be a learner of His ways! Let’s challenge each other by asking, “What are you learning?”
Living in Revival, Vitality, and Mission
Are you currently studying God’s Word? If so, name one principle you have learned, and ask God to enable you to live it out every day.
Share the above truth with your friends, your husband, your children. Talk about how you are learning to live out this truth with them.
When God teaches us truth, it’s not to be kept to ourselves! Ask God to bring someone into your life who needs to hear what you’re learning.