It kind of goes without saying that if you don't learn the lesson material in your class, you won't pass the class. Yes, other things like attendance and missing midterms will affect your grade (I know from experience- yikes), but I would argue that actually learning the lesson material is the most essential for passing a class. I recently began teaching ESL online to kids in China. It's a very interesting experience and I am so glad I got the opportunity to do this job. However, I typically only have 2 lessons that I teach and it can get very, very repetitive. It can be hard to remain excited and energetic when I've taught the same lesson 4 times in a row. Luckily for the students, they don't have to retake the lesson! This is because I teach a "demo" class for prospective students who are interested in signing up for our company. But, even though they have no real way of "failing" my class, I do try to make sure that they really understand the material by the time class is over. This means really focusing on the words we are learning, breaking some of them down syllable by syllable. Sometimes I will think that my student has mastered the word but when it comes up again later it is obvious that they have forgotten what we just went over. So we will repeat.
I was praying last night about the financial situation that my family is in right now. We are fine, just a little more uncomfortable than we would like. I remembered that the Lord is testing us right now, and I think more specifically my husband. When I was praying, I (kind o)f jokingly said "Ok Lord, but can he learn what you are trying to teach him quickly so we can move on?" While the prayer may have been silly, I believe it is backed by a lot of biblical truths. Sanctification is an on going process that believers will be going through until they die and can finally be truly holy in heaven. Because of this on going process, we can be certain that we will have plenty of opportunities to become more like Jesus throughout our lives. I would reckon that at any given moment, God is trying to teach you something, touch an area in your heart (refer to previous blog post for more on that). I also have noticed in my life that if I don't learn what God is trying to show me, I will have to repeat the lesson or retake the entire class. If I don't "get" the main point that God is trying to drive home, and I am resisting sanctification, then I can bet that even though this class is over, I will have to take it again. A time in my life comes to mind where I really was not seeking the Lord, I was adamantly disobeying and living in a life of sin. He plucked me out of the life of sin and I "repented" but there was still so much in me that wanted to rebel. My repentance hadn't truly penetrated my soul, I wasn't truly changed or broken. So, I went back to my disobedient lifestyle. It was a little less extreme than before, by rebellious nonetheless. Well, what do you know but God kept pointing to this aspect in my life. He wouldn't drop it. He was a little gentler than the time before, but He kept nagging until I was finally on my knees, ready to fully repent. And I believe that if I hadn't repented there, I probably would have had to take the class again. Sanctification is a lifelong process. Lifelong. Do you want to take the same class over and over and over for the rest of your life or do you want to move on to the next class? What can we expect in these classes? They probably aren't fun, they are going to feel like trials. You will be stretched, uncomfortable, and maybe even a bit ticked at God. But what if we realized that it was for our own good and all part of the process? What if we just stepped back and thought critically about it? "Ok Lord, this feels like a trial...What am I supposed to be learning in this? What area(s) of my life are you trying to sanctify?" Rather than trying to resist or going in to a full-blown pity party, be proactive in trying to figure out what you are in this trial for. Maybe, just maybe, the sooner you learn the lesson, the sooner you can graduate to the next one. This isn't to trivialize sanctification or make it seem like a race to the next class, God has His due process. But I certainly believe there is a way to make the lesson last longer- by not listening, being proud, and being disobedient. So it wouldn't surprise me if we could excel our sanctification process by listening, being humble, and obeying. It’s important that the sanctification process not only isn’t going to be easy but it can’t be. When we pray and ask God for patience, do we just immediately become more patient? Or does God give us many more opportunities to be patient? Of course it’s the latter. This is not to say that His grace is enabling us to be patient in these opportunities, just that we are held to some level of responsibility. We can’t say “Ok God, I prayed for patience but today my husband was annoying me and I snapped at him. I asked for you to help me be patient!” That’d be ridiculous. Sanctification takes time and effort. We don’t just wake up every morning more holy because we are one day older and one day wiser. It's a lot more comforting to realize that God works all things for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28). In the context of this discussion it reminds me that all of these things that we are going through in this troublesome life are major opportunities for sanctification -opportunities for God to work things for good in our life. Therefore, the discipline of the Lord shouldn't be something that we are afraid of, it should be something that we embrace from a loving Father who is trying to work good into our lives. I love these verses from Hebrews 12 about the Lord's discipline: 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Those last two verses really send the message home to me. He disciplines (brings us into trials, storms, etc) for our good (Romans 8:28), so that we may become holy like Him. And no, it does not feel pleasant while in it, but later, it produces righteousness (sanctification) and peace (special rest in His presence), IF we learned the lesson! That last part is so crucial, we will not produce righteousness or peace if we didn't listen. In fact, chances are, we will have to take the class again. Because God doesn't love us? No! Because He does love us and He disciplines His children. If we are not being disciplined, we should be unsettled and should even double check our adoption status! (I would like to clarify that “lessons” are different than “thorns”. Often, we are given “thorns” in our flesh, special circumstances that affect our personal life deeply. Thorns are also used for the ongoing sanctification process but, unlike specific trials, may not end. The apostle Paul had one and he begged the Lord to take it away but He didn’t (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). So we can expect that some people’s thorns, if they have them, may not “finish” like lessons do, but rather may remain as constant reminders to rely on Jesus’ grace. ) My encouragement to you during any time of trial and discipline is this: thank God for this opportunity to become more like Him. Seek Him, asking Him what it is He wants to reveal to you during this trial. Be trained in this trial. How will you be trained? By humbling yourself, digging through His Word, searching for His Truth that He wants to reveal to you during this time. Be proactive! Don't just wait for a light bulb to go off 6 months into the trial, once you see the storm clouds rolling in, bear down and seek the Lord first. Being early to class can only help you learn the lesson material quicker. God Bless!
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About Me:Hello! I'm Roxy. Enjoy reading my thoughts as I strive to understand God's character and truth and admonish it faithfully to His church. Please email at [email protected] with inquiries. Archives
September 2018
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