James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
Every year I run into at least one student who knows it all. You can’t tell that student anything—they will learn nothing new—because they don’t think they have anything to learn. Sadly, I’ve been there, smugly passing judgement, secure in the fact that I know so much. Oh, the irony.
Proverbs 3:7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
Thomas Merton has a prayer that begins, “Lord, I have no idea where I am going.” I find it a refreshingly honest start. As an adult, a wife, mother, teacher, Christian, I’m supposed to act with confidence, I’m supposed to know things, but Merton’s prayer resonates deeply. “Lord, I have no idea where I am going.”
Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Lord, I don’t want to be so confident in myself and what I think I know that I can’t learn anything new, especially about Your love and mercy. And I don’t want to feel so lost and afraid that I can’t keep moving confidently forward because I know You are with me, even if I can’t see You. Help me, in the words of Merton, to “…trust You always though I may seem lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.” Amen.
Jude 1:22 Be merciful to those who doubt….
Have a blessed day.