The Mighty Creator

One of the important aspects of the teacher/student relationship is instruction. Teachers must give good instructions so students are successful; students must be good listeners to ensure they understand and can apply the instructions. Generally, teachers create assignments and then instruct students on how to complete them. Assignments and activities go better when the creator – the teacher – provides great instructions. The better the instructions, the more clear the objective is for the student. The clearer the objective, the more likely the students can succeed.

The relationship between teacher and student is clearly seen in Psalm 143. In the Psalm, David is praying to God and asking Him to quickly deliver him from his enemies. He begs God to hear and listen to his requests. While David is confident in God’s willingness and ability to hear and answer, he still is restless and anxious.

I remember the days long ago.
    I reflect on all that you have done.
    I carefully consider what your hands have made.
I stretch out my hands to you in prayer.
    Like parched land, my soul thirsts for you. Selah

Answer me quickly, O Yahweh.
    My spirit is worn out.
    Do not hide your face from me,
    or I will be like those who go into the pit.

As David brings his prayer to a close, he shifts his request. Instead of just asking God to deliver him from his enemies, David closes his prayer with the following:

Teach me to do your will, because you are my Elohim.
    May your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

David asks God to teach him his will. Why? Because God is Elohim – the Mighty Creator. God created David. Only God can instruct David how to live because God made him. Only God’s ways will keep his life on the level ground and keep David out of trouble. David recognizes this and trusts that God will answer him.

There are really only two types of students:

🍎 Students who listen and therefore learn and grow. These students listen to instructions and ask for help and clarification. They receive feedback well and work hard to improve.

🍎 Students who do not listen and therefore do not learn and grow. These students do not seek clarification and instead insist on doing things their way. They do not listen to feedback and rarely work hard to improve.

We should follow David’s example and seek to learn and grow. We should ask God to help us instead of stubbornly insisting on doing things our way. We should accept that only God’s instructions lead us on the level path. We must acknowledge that since God created us – only He can give us the best instructions for living our lives. After all, God created the assignment so only He can give the instructions. #GodsPupil #TheMasterTeacher