Am I Learning Impaired?

Sometimes I think I must have a spiritual learning disability—that I am unable to receive, process, and store truth. This happens more often than I’d like to admit. This last February, when I first spoke of my cancer, I confessed my greatest fear was not learning all that God wanted to teach me through this trial: a great loss if divine discipline did not result in righteous revelation. 

My inability to remember and respond has been evidenced through my impatience and petulance instead of faith and firmness.  I asked myself, “Am I learning impaired”?  Well, after a little biblical study, I’ve concluded that spiritual learning disabilities are universal. God continually told the Hebrews not to forget what they had learned (Deut. 4:9, 23; 6:12; 8:11). Solomon wrote, “My son, do not forget my teaching” (Prov. 3:2). Paul told Timothy to remind the believers of the things they had learned (2 Tim 2:14). Peter told his readers he would always be ready to remind them of the things they had learned (1 Pet 1:12).

Did they all have learning disabilities? No, they were just people just like us whose capacity for forgetting was greater than for remembering. No wonder Paul tells Timothy, “continue in the things you have learned” (2 Tim. 3:14).  Let us pray for each other that we won't forget to remember what we've learned.

The Rejection Test

With the advent of the Holiday season, family gatherings will produce warm feelings and memories for many.  But for some others, they will arouse unpleasant feelings, often of rejection.

As disciples of Jesus, we are students who never stop learning. And one of God’s methods for showing us what we’ve learned is to give us tests (sometimes pop quizzes). These tests show us what is in our hearts.

One of the most important tests that you will ever take is the “rejection” test. If you look at the patriarchs and prophets, you will see that every one of them was rejected. And of Jesus, Isaiah said, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised...” (53:3).

So, the rejection test is mandatory if we are going to identify with Jesus. Through the greatest injustice ever known to man Jesus endured and overcame. And through the worst wrongs committed against us, our character will be proven (Rom. 3:5).  But, God will not give us the 'rejection' test until He knows we are ready for it.  And passing it is a mark of true maturity.

Will I Ever Learn to Speak Spanish?

I am investing a lot of time trying to learn Spanish. But it seems I am only getting information. My head is filled with enough words and verb conjugations to sink the Spanish armada. But there is a Grand Canyon sized gap between the alphabet soup in my head and coherent sentences. I feel like I have not ‘learned’ anything yet. All this information hasn't become knowledge. Spanish is not ‘real’ for me.

Paul spoke of this phenomenon on one occasion, describing people who were “always learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7), distinguishing between ‘learning’ and ‘knowing.’ Since there are many Scriptures admonishing us to grow in knowledge (2 Peter 3:18), we must answer the question: how does learning become ‘real’ knowledge? I think it’s the same way we learn a language. By reading, studying, memorizing, and practicing, Spanish will become real to me. And as I think it and speak it, I will become fluent. You could say I will be a new me—something different from what I was before.

Applying this principle to the Bible, it is also apparent that our learning turns into knowledge when it becomes ‘real’ or ‘true’ for us. As we read, study, meditate, and practice what we are learning, it becomes ‘real knowledge.’ And we become something different from what we were before. And we become fluent in speaking "truth." Is there a disparity between your learning and your knowing?

Are You Finding Rest?

A weary traveler arriving in an unfamiliar town says to a local resident “I am looking for a place to rest.” And the local responds “Well, let me know when you find it!”

In our faster-than-the-speed-of-light world, we are all seeking rest. Even in Jesus’ day, He recognized the need for stress release, assuring His fatigued followers: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Mat. 11:28). Now the truth is no one can “give” you rest any more than someone can “give” you laughter. But just as someone can “cause” you to laugh, so Jesus can “cause” you to rest.

While Jesus will cause you to rest, He also explains that you will need to “find” it—implying rest is something that can be “lost.” How? Through the stress of daily life. Growing up in a world of chaos and unpredictability, we have learned creative ways of managing stress—eventually finding they don’t work. Thus Jesus says “come and learn from me… Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Mat. 11:29). In order to learn Jesus' way of finding rest, no doubt there will be a need for some unlearning.

I encourage you today to spend some time asking the Lord to help you identify those things you will have to ‘unlearn’ before you can learn how to find it in Him!

Am I Repeating Myself?

Last Wednesday was the first anniversary of this “Dying to Live” blog, and if you read my devotional postings daily, you know there are certain themes I repeat (hopefully, using various analogies and metaphors). This is not coincidental but deliberate—because repetition is fundamental to learning.

Neuroscientists explain that our brain carries signals from one nerve cell to another by way of synapses, making pathways in your brain. So when you learn something new, it really is like clearing a path through a dense jungle. The first time you go through the undergrowth, it can be rough. But as you travel along the new path repeatedly, it becomes a road, and eventually a well-travelled highway. So it is with your memory: the more you repeat certain thought patterns, the more likely you will be able to recall that information—it literally ‘grooves’ into your brain.

Paul employed the use of repetition in his letters. As did Peter, who vowed: I believe I should keep on reminding you of these things as long as I live (2 Peter 1:13).

My dear mother is getting hard of hearing and I often have to repeat myself before she hears me. But I love her and I don’t mind. And I have the same mindset toward you, my readers. As I begin a second year of this blog, I promise to keep on repeating the “Dying to Live” truths that will challenge us to enter more fully into His abundant life. Are you listening, or do I need to repeat myself?