Being Taught

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

One of the greatest attributes of God is His faithfulness (1 Corinthians 1:9). He promises us many things that we can be fully assured of because of His integrity. But there is one thing that can hinder His promise of eternal life, and that is our own stubbornness. We are promised rest if we will come to Christ for His guidance (Matthew 11:28-29). We are blessed people because He is faithful to His promise and gives us rest when we respond to His plea.

The three promises in the Scripture above are based upon our desire for truth. Jesus taught, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). The Greek words used here show a deep hunger and thirst, even to the point of death. In other words, if we don’t eat and drink we will die. But it also shows that only a certain “food” and “water” can satisfy these needs. Jesus shows us the food required to satisfy spiritual hunger: “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work’” (John 4:34). The sustenance of our spiritual life is the same as our Savior’s and that is living to fulfill the will of God.

David was a man devoted to God and His teachings. He knew that his life depended on the commands of God: “Make me know Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths” (Psalm 25:4). God’s paths are truth, faith and salvation, along which our feet must be guided (Psalm 119:105). As hard as we try and as bad as we want to be able to, we cannot direct our own steps in God’s path of righteousness (Jeremiah 10:23). Our own efforts will always fall short because of weakness in the flesh: “[F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). If we are truly seeking God’s paths then we must recognize His voice and allow His words to change our heart and minds.

Many are in this world with a desire to find God’s salvation. But there are many who believe they have found it but have been deceived by Satan. They have accepted the opinions of men instead of “examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). God is not “a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). He has a desire for all man to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4) and He has never “forsaken those who seek” His ways (Psalm 9:10). His way is truth (John 14:6) and He has sent His truth to the world that the world might trust in Him and follow His lead.

There are also some in this world that have obeyed the gospel and have had their sins washed away. But it is there that they stop being obedient to the Lord’s love. They have forgotten how to die to self, to sin and to the old ways that only lead to death, doom and destruction. They have fallen back into the trap of self-abasement. They believe they are self-sufficient and do not deny fleshly pride. They forget about being humble enough to only listen to His word and come up with a “better plan” than what God’s truth offers. The difference is that those who are truly seeking His salvation can only be satisfied by the voice of God (John 10:27) because they know He is the only One that can lead them to the reward of His promises. They are looking to God to teach them His ways only.

In His Grace,
Cub