A Resilient LifeSample

Unlearning to Learn

When I moved from Australia with my family, there were many things we had to unlearn to learn so as not to get frustrated in a new country. From the language to the way we conducted ourselves on the street, everything was a new way of doing things. And because we did not cling to the old ways, we adapted.

It is because we do not have a teachable heart that sometimes we are not able to embrace the new things that God has for us and to reach out for what will lay an even stronger foundation in our lives.

People who have been Christians for years, perhaps when they encounter new ways of thinking and new methods of doing church, do not have a teachable heart and cannot embrace the new. It is new doesn't mean its better, but different. There are no better or worse ideas in the kingdom of God. Sometimes, He wants to do a new thing in us to take us to new levels.

Embracing the new requires unlearning the old. If we do not make room for what God wants to do tomorrow, we will never live resilient lives and advance in all that God has for us.

Romans 12:2 is a verse that has transformed my reasoning. Religion wants us to be different from the world only outwardly, by our dressing, hairstyles, the places we visit, and our behavior. But Paul challenges us to distinguish ourselves from the world, not based on our outward representation, but by our thoughts. He tells us to "be transformed" in our minds. A resilient life, which is built on the rock, distinguishes you because you think differently and not by carrying the Bible under your arm.

We can't put God in a box; He doesn't live within the parameters we define, nor does He operate the way we expect. That's why we must constantly unlearn the old to learn the new that God has for us.

What do you need to unlearn in your life? What do you need to learn in your finances, your friendships, and your faith?

He who is ignorant is not the one who does not know, but the one who thinks he knows everything. Learning has no age, so live with a teachable heart and let God surprise you with what He can and wants to do in your life!