Isaiah 50:4 The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.

This has long been a dearly loved verse of mine, and this passage of course came up last year when the theme was Discipleship Training. Where the NIV says, “an instructed tongue,” the Japanese says, “a disciple’s tongue.” Likewise at the end of the verse, where the NIV says “one being taught,” the Japanese says, “disciple.” Sadly, English-speaking society, and particularly America, has forgotten what it means to be a disciple, and that has had a massive impact on the Church. Discipleship was a well-understood concept in Biblical times, because most education was very personal. They didn’t have educational institutions, for the most part, and if you wanted to learn something you had to find someone to teach you. That meant you would then do anything they asked, in exchange for being able to absorb some of their knowledge, wisdom, and/or skill. (An echo of that is preserved in Japanese elementary schools, where the children do virtually all of the cleaning of the buildings and grounds.) We have such a tendency to consider education a purely intellectual exercise, and I think we lose a great deal by that. After all, Jesus didn’t tell us to go into all the world and make students, He said to make disciples! (Matthew 28:18-20) It is only when we become disciples of Christ that we begin to reflect Him truly in our words and actions.

It is a point of joy and gratitude for me that the Lord indeed awakens me morning by morning to have these times with Him, but that must not become a source of pride. Jesus’ words in Luke 17:7-10 should certainly put a stop to that! I must never forget what a privilege it is to serve the living God. I am perhaps as prone to complaining (at least internally) about the assignments I’m given as anyone, but that benefits no one, least of all me. The harder the assignment, the more I gain from it! I need to remember that more consistently, on the emotional level as well as the intellectual, so that I will avoid unnecessary emotional exhaustion. I’ve experienced more than enough of that!

Father, thank You indeed for Your faithfulness to put me through exactly the training You know I need. Forgive me for how much I have complained about that over the years! Help me be so grounded in You that I am indeed imperturbable, to the degree Jesus demonstrated when He was asleep in a boat that His disciples thought was in imminent danger of sinking in a storm. (Matthew 4:35-41) May I listen to and obey You at all times, being unshaken by every other voice, so that as a good disciple I may do Your will on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!