Sunday, October 27, 2013

Learning To Learn Again


"If we're growing, we're always going to be out of our comfort zone.” - John Maxwell

Evidently, we tend to stay in our comfort zones as much as we can, doing the same things from yesterday over and over again. Sadly, we even unconsciously fight back against any intruder that might endanger our comfort, even to the point that we do not want to learn new things anymore.


I guess you might agree with me that life has so much to be frustrated at:
  • "Why did I take an engineering course in college when I hope to be a medical doctor someday?",
  • "Why have not I taken the chance to court that girl, when my heart shouts out that I really like her?",
  • "Why didn't I try to learn a  programming language while in college, when I enjoy solving logical problems?",
  • "Why haven't I tried to open up my life, before when I had the chance, for that someone that might be a suitable complement for my personality?"
  • "Why do I try to do the same things over and over again, when I know that these things will not help me grow?"

Looking back at your past, these frustrations might be a major setback - like a giant anchor mistakenly dropped, when you still need to sail on; or like a heavy iron prison ball chained on your foot, you want to run wild and free, but it seems you just can't. You might have your own reasons why you chose to do one thing over another. It might be due to your financial situation, priorities, or even due to some confidential reasons; Or, you might not want to get out of your comfort zone, so you chose the "easier" path.

Now, one thing is sure, like the waters of the river, "You cannot step twice into the same river; for other waters are continually flowing in." (Heraclitus, Fragment 41; Quoted by Plato in Cratylus 402a) That decision is now a thing of the past. If you want to grow, you need to learn from your past, and you need to learn to set your eyes on what lies ahead - you might need to pull back your anchor to sail on, and you might need to remove the shackles on your feet.


Even Paul, an apostle of Jesus, said:

"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

 The truth is, even God is concerned with your "personal concerns". His delight is to see you delighting in Him, because only He can satisfy the desires of your heart. This world will someday fade away, along with its temporary pleasures - money, fame, career, sexual relationships. In fact, "the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) The heart tries to fill in everything it could fit in, when only by surrendering this heart to Jesus would truly satisfy its desires. Jesus understands everything you've gone through, and everything you are going through. Learn to trust in Jesus with your heart, along with your past! Is there anything better than having somebody truly understand you?

As John Piper would say:

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

© 2013 Erickson Ibana