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

I know I’ve written on this verse before, but I feel it applies to me so strongly that I can’t help but write on it again. Going through it, for starters, rather than saying “an instructed tongue,” or “those who are taught,” the Japanese says, “the tongue of a disciple.” The Japanese term for “disciple” also means “apprentice,” as in a craftsman’s apprentice, so this seems very appropriate. If we aren’t willing to learn, then we aren’t disciples! Then it goes on to tell us what to do with our discipled tongues: encourage the weary. Someone who is always putting others down with their words has a lot to learn! Our words are to correct and admonish, but ultimately they are to lift people up and not put them down. Then it speaks of how that attitude of discipleship is maintained: by starting every morning listening to God. Again, the Japanese says. “to hear as a disciple.” We can hear things and say, “Oh, that’s good,” without the commitment to follow through and do whatever we were told. That’s not being a disciple! Sometimes an apprentice will misunderstand what they were told, and sometimes they won’t have the skill to do a task perfectly, but the important thing is the commitment to obedience. Without that, we are placing ourselves on the level of the Master, and that is the absolute height of stupidity. (Sometimes an apprentice is going to come up with a better way to do something than their human master, but that is certainly never going to happen between us and God.)

As I said, I feel this applies to me very directly. My major motivational gifting is Teacher, and a teacher has to learn in order to be able to teach! It is a truism, but sometimes the best way to learn something is indeed to teach it. That said, the intellect involved in that process can be a real snare, leading to stupid, and indeed blind, conceit. My focus has got to be on being a disciple, fully and instantly obedient to my Lord. If I fail in that, I disqualify myself, just as Paul said. (1 Corinthians 9:27) I am deeply grateful that the Lord has instilled in me the strong habit of morning devotions, and that He does speak to me in this way every morning. Sometimes He awakens me in the night, to tell me something or to have me pray, as He did this morning to pray for the US election. I am not to resent that for a moment, but rejoice that He has counted me worthy to do something for Him. I am to listen to Him and then use the words He gives me to lift up the people around me, for their blessing and His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for Your calling on my life. May I be fully obedient on every level, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!