What is a teachable spirit? In short, a teachable spirit is our availability to His ability. The psalmist David prayed the following prayer in Psalms chapter 25 and verses 4 and 5 and we should make it ours as well. “Make me know your ways Oh Lord, teach me your paths Lord, lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. For you I will wait all day long.”

David did not have all the answers and he was not in a hurry for God to reveal Himself in the current situation that he was facing. That is the key.

We must all come before God as a humble disciple of Christ recognizing that we do not have it all figured out and that we need the Lord to lead us step by step day by day moment by moment. Those that think they do have it all figured out need to be reminded of what the apostle Paul said, his admonishment where he said that “knowledge puffs up and brings arrogance with it, but love builds up” (1 Cor. 8:1).

The love of the Father facilitates the development of relationship. A teachable spirit is a humble spirit. The person who has a teachable spirit is a person who is humble, but it is important that we understand this about humility, that a person who is humble has a modest view of themselves, what we might call their own self-importance. Humility is a lowly view of oneself. If you are aware of your own humility, it is evidence of pride and not humility.

A prideful person is not teachable because they have that “know-it-all attitude.” It might be said that the first step of being humble and experiencing a teachable spirit is to recognize one’s propensity to be proud.

It is not like we do not have fleshly propensities; we do; and a person with a teachable spirit understands that not only do they not have it all figured out, but they’re also eager to learn what God is wanting to reveal to them for the current situation. They are aware of their own fleshly tendencies and as a result allow Christ to guard their hearts; so that they do not walk after the flesh.

C.S. Lewis once said that “humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.”
A teachable spirit is one which appreciates that the ways of God are past finding out, Romans 11:33. We are never going to figure this thing out; it is not about figuring it out. The Christian objective is not having correct doctrinal opinions and having all the answers to all of life’s problems, but it is the willingness to be disciples who are learners and followers of Jesus Christ. Faith is forever teachable.

Faith is teachable but belief seeks to get it all figured out and faith is simply our continuous receptivity to whatever God is doing. In faith we live the Christian life. As Christians we are learning from a Spirit teacher, as Jesus informed his disciples that the Holy Spirit would be that teacher; that he would be their teacher in their learning process after his resurrection. In in John 14:18 Jesus said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” It is the indwelling presence of Christ as our life; he is the Spirit teacher. He is the one that wants to reveal himself to us; and it is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, which comes alongside us, as the paraclete, the teacher, the helper, the counselor.

May I encourage you today to walk humbly before your God, to be aware of the Life-giving Spirit, the Spirit of Christ within you, and that you would have that teachable spirit that you might experience Life As God Intended.