Learn From My Mistakes
No matter how much you tell them and try to teach them, ultimately, they make decisions for themselves
Reference: v.2 He [the Lord] did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience (TNIV Bible)
Explore: As a parent it is so hard to see your child go through issues that you had already foreseen ahead of them. No matter how much you tell them and try to teach them, ultimately, they make decisions for themselves – some good, some bad. While it is great if they are able to learn from our mistakes, the reality is that they often need to make those mistakes for themselves to really understand the consequences. I guess our parents experienced the same frustration. We are not computers. The previous generation cannot just download all their wisdom into their children, they need to learn for themselves.
Application: It has been the same for all generations. The Lord needed to teach the next generation of Israelites to trust in Him as they would not just take on the faith of their predecessors. So, too, it is with our faith. While it’s great if our parents brought us up with Christian beliefs, ultimately it is up to each one of us to build our own personal relationship with God.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for taking a personal interest in each one of us. Amen.
What have you learned lately from your own experience?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.
1 comment:
Just come across your devotional app and have put it onto my itouch. I love the way it has been written in such a down to earth manner. It’s refreshing to find thoughts written in a way that is easy to relate to. Thank you.