Blessed by Aggravation
I'm thankful for aggravation from God. What a blessing!
I don't always enjoy being taught by God. Did you enjoy every teacher you had in school?
Yet it was the most aggravating teachers I remember most. They were the ones who would not let me just be a good, or even great, student. They wanted the best out of me. It did not matter if I was doing "A" work; they wanted "A plus."
A seminary professor comes to mind at this point. I was really struggling in a New Testament class, but was really giving it extra effort. We had a ten-page paper due, midway through the semester. I wanted to make a big impression, so I looked up some Greek words and got definitions out of a concordance. I used this as a foundation for the paper, then launched into some very good and intricate arguments.
Well, I got a very low grade on that paper. I was shocked! The professor let me know that the definition of a key Greek word I used was faulty, very clearly off in a wrong direction. Though I had not had a course in Biblical Greek, I assumed I could find all the Greek I needed in a reference book. That key lesson sticks with me. The poor grade hurt at the time, but it was very helpful in the long run.
I am thankful for God's never-ending pushing and pulling and prodding. His Spirit in me is an incredible teacher. I really do want to get better every day, even when I stop for rest at times.
