Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again. Job 34:32 ESV
‘Teach me’ was the phrase frequently used by a world renowned physician and professor I had the privilege of working with in the Emergency Department for several years. He used the phrase ‘teach me’ with resident doctors and nurses as a tool to have them explain a procedure or pathophysiological process. This technique would allow him to assess their understanding. He was truly brilliant. While those of us he posed the question to didn’t feel like we were really teaching him anything new, he would still remark about how much he would learn from us. He was a hallmark example of a lifelong learner after decades of practicing as a physician.
It’s easy to feel shame for what we don’t know. I've often felt like ‘I should know this already,’ or I’ve been embarrassed that I might just be slow to understand. But the phrase ‘teach me’ is so disarming, and I came to love using it professionally when I didn’t understand certain processes or was seeking knowledge.
The phrase ‘teach me’ positions the person who is asking it in a humble, eager, and teachable way.
Job uses this phrase ‘teach me’ in asking God to show him what he cannot see. He desires to know if he has done wrong so that he might humbly repent and turn from his ways. His heart is in a posture of humility and eagerness to learn. This is exactly the heart of humility God longs for from us as His children.
Having all the answers and getting it right isn’t a prerequisite to the Christian life. Rather, having a teachable and humble heart is key to growing spiritually. If our hearts are filled with pride and arrogance, an unwillingness to learn from our mistakes or disinterest in seeing what we missed, He cannot teach us.
There are areas that we cannot see in our own lives, just as we all have blind spots when we are driving. Rather than recklessly continuing without regard to what lies within our blind spot, or the damage we could potentially cause, we must stop and ask God to reveal to us what is in our blind spot so that we can see.
‘Teach me’ is the posture we must continually position ourselves in, being willing to learn what we don’t know and see what we can’t see. When we humbly ask Him to teach us, to reveal where there is sin in our lives so we may not continue in it, He is faithful, kind and loving in His response. He will show us, guide us and teach us.
Your fellow Able Mom, Meredith Boggs
Father, teach me what I cannot see. My desire is to live according to Your word that I might not sin against You or others. Reveal the areas of my heart where I need to repent; humble my heart in the places where I am wrong, and lead me in Your way everlasting.
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