Job 6:24 Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
I had just been dropped off at Hyles-Anderson Bible College in Northwest Indiana from Dothan, AL. It was obvious to me that God in heaven led me there. Never could I, nor would I have made that choice on my own. But because the commitment had been made, “Lord, if you show me in a very plain way what You want from me, then I promise I will do it for the rest of my life….even Africa with scorpions” Hence, I found myself at HAC in 1996 as a freshman. I was amazed that I was at this place with so many believers, so many godly people, so much love, so many smiles…”Is this what Heaven would be like?” I wondered.
It did not take long for me to realize that being in a place full of heaven, did not mean that I was full of heaven. Neither dressing the part, nor walking the part, nor a new vocabulary, or sitting in chapel could automatically change me into a saint. As I listened to the chapel messages each day and sat in wonderful Bible classes, I began to realize just how corrupt my thinking was. The rocks that I never realized were there before, were ever looming in my head and were threatening a great rock slide!
One morning in my Bible reading I read in Job 6:24, “Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.” The next morning I read in Jeremiah 10:23-24, “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.”
Responding to my present inner turmoil of helplessness over the rocks in my head, the Holy Spirit gave me the prayer requests to bring to my heavenly Father, “ Lord, teach me, and I will hold my tongue: cause me to know wherein I have erred.” “Lord, correct me.” The Holy Spirit began His work by revealing to me through His word what my need was. Next, He led me to the requests I needed to bring to my Father, and then He brought two wonderful mentors into my life.
The first was a Dorm supervisor named Zana Reichen, a godly lady and true servant of the Lord. Although already very busy as secretary to the college president and a dorm supervisor, when I approached her one day and asked if we could walk together early before work each morning, she willingly made the sacrifice to meet daily at 6am and walk around the campus, getting morning exercise for our bodies, and for me, gaining wisdom for my soul. I asked Miss Reichen about everything. Each day I thought of questions about every subject under the sun; I had questions concerning my Bible reading, relationships, hygiene, etc., and each morning that we walked the Holy Spirit used the counsel and truth from His servant to remove rocks and renew my thinking.
My second mentor was a friend’s teacher named Miss Lindish. My friend spoke often about this teacher’s wisdom and amazing walk with God; well, since I definitely lacked wisdom and wanted to learn to walk with God, I sought her out. I approached Miss Lindish one morning as she entered the college for work. “Miss Lindish, may I carry your suitcase for you?” Thus began a daily contact with this wise servant of God. I always had a question ready or asked her about what she gleaned from the Bible that morning.
To prepare for God’s Kingdom and to live for His glory, we must be willing to admit our lack, our ignorance and blindness of mind; and instead of being defensive, embarrassed or proud about our weaknesses, we need to seek out wiser, godly servants of the Lord who, being filled with the Holy Spirit, can show us the way wherein we should walk.
