Genesis 44:33-34
I've never thought of myself as a stubborn person. In fact, I've always prided myself on being "teachable," and maybe "prided" is the key word. Just under the teachable surface, pride boils and stirs. It calls out for self sufficiency and keeps us from seeing ourselves in a true light. Its twin brother, insecurity, often masquerades wearing the same clothes but all the while fearing that the truth would be uncovered. In short, my "teachable" posture can sometimes be just another arena for pride and insecurity to play their games.
What I mean to say is, how do I really learn my lessons, grow and mature in life and faith. I've found that the more I try to mature, the more I wrestle with pride and insecurity. It occurs to me that maybe all God is asking of me is that I would invite him to teach me, to pull back the costumes dawned by pride and insecurity and show me my honest self. As we walk through trials, both self inflicted and the product of circumstance, we may not understand that God is teaching us a lesson. I have noticed that I usually don't know that I've learned it until a similar circumstance arises much later and I able to look back and draw wisdom or endurance from my former experience. I believe the greatest mark of growth is to trust and embrace that God may be teaching you a lesson in the midst of a given situation even when you have no idea what it is or your outcome will be.
Judah wasn't the oldest brother in Joseph's family, but he was the teachable one. Rueben, the oldest, should have been the one to stand up for his family but couldn't. Long before he had shamed himself by not standing up for his little brother Joseph. While he saved Joseph's life by suggesting that his brothers throw him in a cistern rather than kill him, he didn't boldly say; "No, I am the eldest and we are not doing this!" His plan was to rescue Joseph in secret. Even earlier he had shamed himself by sleeping with his fathers concubine. Rueben hadn't learned much. Judah on the other hand, had been the one to suggest slavery for Joseph, a fate almost worse than death. He had been outwitted by Tamar into giving her a son, but he had learned. Now when his family was on the line, he knew what was right, he understood how he had failed, and he acted with honor.
What are the lessons God is teaching us today that will have a great impact on tomorrow? Are we open to God's revealing love? His shaping and molding of our character? May we be blessed to learn our lessons from God.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
