I'm A Slow Learner, Thank God

I am learning that I am a really slow learner- the kind of learner that shares the revelation they've just had, and it causes people(including myself) to say (or just think, if they're feeling nice), 

"Uh, yeah... duh."

I like to be good at things, and to be good at them naturally or QUICKLY, so feeling like a dunce doesn't really sit well with me- I want to be smart and good at things and not have to keep asking for help over and over again. This manifestation of pride- wanting to do it on my own and without help, leaves no room for a teacher.

Or a Teacher.

If I can learn it on my own, then there is no need for Him to teach me. If I can redeem myself, then there is no need for Him to pull me out of my pit. If I can save myself then there is no need for a Savior. I know that He has saved me, and that it is He who also teaches me and grows me and sanctifies me. 

I am learning that He does this in so many ways- through His scriptures, through the Holy Spirit, through prayer, through sermons, through books, through other people, through experiences, through seasons, through service, through trials, through blessings, and... on and on and on.

I am also learning that He teaches in His time, and that it sometimes takes a combination of 2 or 3 or 4 or all of the above, as well as a LOT of time and work by the Holy Spirit for a truth about the Lord or about myself to really 'click' for me. My "duh" moments are teaching me to be patient- that it is not my job to sanctify myself. If it were, I would be able to point at the things I've learned and the areas I've grown in, and name myself as the source of that sanctification, instead of HIM- the one and only source of all things good.

That we know nothing apart from what He has chosen to reveal to us and teach us, is HUMBLING but also so encouraging too! He is a God who provides for us, and only asks that we trust and obey Him and allow Him to do so. One of my new favorite bloggers, Alece, put it this way:

"Thankfully 'God helps those who helps themselves' isn’t in the Bible, but this is: 'He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on solid ground & steadied me as I walked along.'"

 I know I'm not supposed to play favorites, but if I had a top 5 favorite books of the Bible list (which I may or may not have ;) ) Job would definitely make the list. When I read Alece's words, I thought of Job 33:

²² His soul draws near to the pit,
       and his life to the messengers of death.  ²³ "Yet if there is an angel on his side
       as a mediator, one out of a thousand,
       to tell a man what is right for him,
 ²⁴ to be gracious to him and say,
       'Spare him from going down to the pit ;
       I have found a ransom for him'-
 ²⁵ then his flesh is renewed like a child's;
       it is restored as in the days of his youth.
 ²⁶ He prays to God and finds favor with him,
       he sees God's face and shouts for joy;
       he is restored by God to his righteous state.
 ²⁷ Then he comes to men and says,
       'I sinned, and perverted what was right,
       but I did not get what I deserved.
 ²⁸ He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit,
       and I will live to enjoy the light.'
 ²⁹ "God does all these things to a man—
       twice, even three times-
 ³⁰ to turn back his soul from the pit,
       that the light of life may shine on him.
 ³¹ "Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;
       be silent, and I will speak.
 ³² If you have anything to say, answer me;
       speak up, for I want you to be cleared.
 ³³ But if not, then listen to me;
       be silent, and I will teach you wisdom."

Praise the Lord, that He is the all powerful, patient, redemptive, "twice, even three times" kind of Lord of Psalm 40 and Job 22, who turns our souls back from the pit, and is gracious enough to do it many times over, teaching us and giving us wisdom as He works in our lives.  He so graciously redeemed my soul from the pit the day I believed in Him, but He does not just save us- He sanctifies us every day, teaching us, changing us, and redeeming our souls by His grace and mercy, and will continue to do so until the day we meet Him- a truth that is very reassuring to a slow learner like me :)

"E'er since by faith I saw the stream thy flowing wounds supply, redeeming love has been my theme and shall be 'til I die"

-There Is A Fountain-