Teachable Moments

I learned a lesson at VBS today.  It was in talking with one of the teachers who was talking about taking teachable moments.  The kind of moments that are outside of the lesson that is being taught to teach a valuable life principle.  Taking the time to show someone that you care enough to talk to them about how they should behave and how they can do better next time.  As the teacher addressed the VBS student they had their total attention for a few brief moments.  The challenge is to use those moments to teach something that will benefit them for a lifetime.

As I thought about this, I thought about how God does this with us.  He uses the trials and difficulties in our lives to get our attention.  He uses the good times and the bad to get our attention.  And all that He does is to draw us to himself and give us a better chance of listening to His Word.  He tells us in James 1:2-4 that we are to allow the hard times to mold us into the person that God wants us to be - the person who is lacking nothing. 

So often we don't stop and take the time to listen to the corrective voice of God.  We instead complain about the difficulty and focus more on ourselves instead of on God.  When we do this we are not allowing ourselves the joy of the teachable moment - that moment when God has our attention and can direct us with His Truth. 

So if you are going through something that has your attention - listen.