Isaiah 28:26 His God instructs him
    and teaches him the right way.

God does teach us. We might think we figure things out, but our mental horsepower really isn’t up to it. We are constantly running into our own limitations, whether we realize it or not. That’s why “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10) There are countless stories of people who did the right thing “just by chance,” when it actually wasn’t chance at all. The examples of agricultural wisdom given by Isaiah after this verse seem arcane to us, but God showed people how to do things, given the technology they had. Intelligence does factor in, but that too is a gift from God. This of course isn’t limited to “practical” things. As Jesus said, “It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.” (John 6:45) Paul also pointed out, “Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.” (1 Thessalonians 4:9) Our biggest problem is in recognizing what God is teaching us, and really learning it. Going to what Jesus said, certainly not everyone in His day genuinely heard the Father and learned from Him. God is talking to all of us all the time, so we need to ask for ears to hear and hearts to understand, so that we may grow and mature as He desires and intends.

The longer I live, the better I recognize that the insights I have are given to me by God, and aren’t something I came up with on my own. I have written many times about the incredible conceit I wallowed in. I still tend to talk endlessly, but at least I know that anything good or true that I say comes from my gracious Lord, and not from me. I am eager to learn more, and am certainly a “knowledge junkie,” but I need to let the Lord filter my intake more, learning what He wants me to know and not being cluttered up with things that distract me. These days lots of people are turning to AI for information, letting the AI do their research for them. That not only dulls their own critical thinking, the AI sometimes “hallucinates” and makes things up, causing problems all around. God is the truest of all intelligence, and the source of all truth, for that matter. I want to learn from Him, however and whatever He wants to teach me, so that I may be fully useful to Him, for His glory.

Father, thank You for teaching us. Help me be sensitive to You and receive all Your lessons with gratitude, even when they are painful. May I both learn and apply what I have learned, so that I may fulfill all of Your purposes for me, on Your schedule and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!