break. This past May, I graduated from my teacher preparation program and officially became a fully certified teacher in Virginia. I’m heading into my fourth year of education, and I’m excited about what the new school year will bring.
I currently teach 4th and 5th grade math, so naturally, I’ve been pondering new ideas for my classroom. As I sat in quiet reflection, I was about to pray for divine ideas. In my imagination, I pictured God “downloading” fresh lesson plans into my brain from heaven, quick, clear, and complete. Or maybe I’d fall asleep and wake up from a dream, brimming with supernatural insight.
But when I paused, I realized that’s not really how it has happened for me in the past.
Most of my best ideas have come through study, reading, attending workshops, and reflecting deeply. The divine insights I’ve received were often revealed gradually, not dropped all at once. They came through diligence, not downloads.
Why Did I Expect Instant Downloads from God?
This question stopped me. Why did I expect God to speak in flashes of brilliance, bypassing my need to study, explore, or prepare?
The answer, I’ve come to realize, is layered.
1. The Way We Read the Bible
In Scripture, it often seems like God speaks instantly and clearly. Abraham hears a command and obeys. Moses gets instructions from a burning bush. Paul is struck down and redirected in one dramatic moment. These stories make divine communication seem sudden and spectacular.
But when you look closer, these men waited, wandered, and wrestled too. Abraham waited 25 years for his promised child. Moses lived in the wilderness for 40 years before his calling. Joseph had a dream, but lived through betrayal and prison for over a decade before it was fulfilled.
The Bible often summarizes long seasons of silence and struggle in a few verses. And if we’re not careful, we’ll imagine God always moves in seconds, not seasons.
2. Church Culture in the U.S.
In many church spaces, especially charismatic or revivalist circles, the supernatural is emphasized heavily. We hear testimonies about prophetic dreams, spontaneous ideas, and “God told me” moments. These stories are exciting, and they encourage faith, but they also unintentionally send a message: if you’re spiritual enough, you’ll hear God clearly and quickly.
Meanwhile, few testimonies spotlight the teacher who studied for hours, the parent who patiently built a habit, or the writer who revised the same chapter ten times.
We don’t often celebrate God in the grind, but He is there.
3. Our Fast-Paced, Shortcut Culture
Layered on top of that is modern life. We live in an age of instant gratification. We’re used to Googling answers, streaming shows in one night, and finding “life hacks” for everything.
So when it comes to prayer, it’s easy to want the same speed. We want God to operate like a search engine, with instant clarity, no waiting, and no confusion.
4. Sometimes, We’re Just Tired
And let’s be honest, sometimes we crave a divine download because we’re exhausted. Teaching is hard. Life is full. And the thought of sitting down to plan or study can feel overwhelming.
It’s not laziness, it’s weariness. In those moments, we don’t just want insight, we want comfort.
5. We Were Rarely Taught the Value of Process
Many churches teach us to expect revelation, but not formation. We were told to “wait on God,” but we weren’t always told that waiting might involve study, trial and error, discipline, and growth.
We were not taught to see process as spiritual, but it is.
Sometimes, the Holy Spirit leads you to a book. Or gives you a spark during a boring workshop. Or nudges you gently as you rework your lesson plan for the third time. That is divine guidance, just not in the form we were taught to expect.
The Shift
This shift in mindset has been powerful for me. I still ask God for ideas, but now I ask Him to partner with me in the process, not to help me skip it. I pray as I study and I’m learning that God doesn’t just speak through downloads, He speaks through diligence.
Sometimes, the miracle isn’t in the moment, it’s in the making.
No comments:
Post a Comment