A Teachable Attitude

An attitude that we must possess in order to shape the things to come in a successful manner is to be teachable. When I was a basketball coach, I would often ask my players, "Who is the greatest golfer in the world right now?" (At that time it was Tiger Woods). When they would answer, I would say to them, "Did you know that Tiger Woods has a coach?" You see, if Tiger and his coach played a round of golf, you know who would win every time, don't you? Tiger. But he recognizes that even though he is a better player than his coach, he needs an external perspective to help him see the things he can't see about his swing. The good and the things that need to be corrected.

In verse 1, 2 of Jeremiah 18, the Lord told Jeremiah, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” We all have a potter's house, a place where God can teach us. But the reality is, the potter's house is not so much a geographical location as it is an attitudinal quality. 

God uses His Word to teach us. He uses pastors, preachers, and teachers to help us gain insight. He uses common ordinary things, like pottery, to teach us. In fact, when you have a teachable spirit, you will discover that God speaks to you all the time, through small events, through conversations, through circumstances, and through preachers and teachers.

When you are teachable, you will discover that God always has something for you to learn. An old adage says, "When the student is ready, the teacher appears." If we fail to cultivate a teachable spirit, we will miss opportunities to shape the things to come in our lives.