“A Teachable Spirit”

Message Summary: “Show me Your ways, O LORD, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long” (Psalm 25:4,5). Notice that the Psalmist’s receptivity to being taught is expressed twice and he directs it to God. Like the maturing Christian believer, he had a growing knowledge of the nature, character, and precepts of God, yet he continues to implore God, “Teach me.”  Do you have a teachable spirit today?
“If you are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favor with You”  (Exodus 33:13). “Show me Your ways, O LORD, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long” (Psalm 25:4,5).Teachers are usually the ones to ask their students questions, but one of the greatest questions a student can ask a teacher is, “Will you teach me how to _______?” Such questions demonstrate a teachable spirit from the student and that student can be six or sixty six; age is not a factor. I demonstrate this by a conversation Brooksyne had with a young mother who approached her after church a couple months ago.

Brooksyne invited several children to sing a song and share some memorized Scriptures as she occasionally does when she is leading worship on a Sunday morning. After church the mother and her precocious three year old approached Brooksyne and said, “Jonathan pointed to you while you were working with the children and said, ‘I want her to be my teacher.'” Of course such an expression coming from one so young touched Brooksyne’s heart and, with the glowing smile that might come from a teacher, she shared the story with me on the way home from church. Having a desire to learn can come at a very early age but it is desirable that we keep a teachable spirit through every season of our life.

A teachable spirit keeps our hearts and minds in tune. Do you occasionally feel like your communication with God is out of tune or not in proper sync? You know the direction you want to go but there seems to be a lot of “squeak, squawk, or static” along the way. You’re not quite “on pitch”?

The static of everyday life may include family conflict, work related stresses, physical challenges, financial hardships or anything that clouds the path God has laid out for us, as revealed throughout His Word. Here in America there is a tremendous amount of static in regard to this fall’s presidential election. It is tempting to pray that all of these obstacles be removed from our lives, yet it is through these challenges that God reminds us of His promises, reveals His power and shows His purpose to us. 
I pray for myself and others that we will have a “teachable spirit” as a lifelong characteristic that guides us through the variables of life. During each stage of life our sinful human nature can manifest itself with a stubborn, unteachable spirit. We might see or experience it in the cocky youth and young adult years, the smug middle aged, and the cynical, know-it-all senior years. Instead we need an enduring teachable spirit that will guide and sustain us until the clouds pass over, the static is cleared, and heaven is closer in view.
Moses, who at 80 years of age was demonstrably instructed by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, made this request of God, “If you are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favor with You” (Exodus 33:13). Moses made this request of God after the Israelites rebelled against God and their leader, Moses, because he “was so long in coming down from the mountain” (Exodus 32:1). They grew weary of the “waiting” process and proceeded to build a golden calf and worship it in place of the living God.

Our second daily text is an excellent lifelong verse:“Show me Your ways, O LORD, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long” (Psalm 25:4,5). Notice that the Psalmist’s receptivity to being taught is expressed twice and he directed it to God. Like the maturing Christian believer, he had a growing knowledge of the nature, character, and precepts of God, yet he continued to implore God, “Teach me.”  

In doing so he awaited God’s instruction on how His ways are to be implemented in his particular circumstance. This teachable spirit fundamentally acknowledges, “You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” That’s the outlook on life I sure want to have! 

Even though God is the ultimate source of all teaching, He uses a variety of channels to teach us. His ways are fundamentally discovered in His Word, but the lifelong student will recognize the input from prayer, from other believers, from nature itself, and providential circumstances as well.

Do you have a teachable spirit today?


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber