By Dr. Paul Pettit
I had a seminary professor, Dr. Howard Hendricks, who was very clear about the idea of experience. He warned us to be cautious of teachers who boast about having taught for forty years. “Did they really teach for forty years, or did they just teach for just one year and repeat the same old notes and stories every year for forty years?” He told us that to teach well, we need to keep studying, praying, growing, and learning. We couldn’t rely on the same old worn-out notes and yellowed lesson plans year after year and then brag about our vast experience.
This is not only true for professors. The same is true for us. No matter our age God is continually molding us and shaping us into the man He wants you to become.
Take, for example, men and boys. A boy may be sixteen years old yet act like a man. A man may be forty years old yet act like a boy. Perhaps the forty-year-old man has just repeated his attitudes and actions each year, replaying the choices he made as a 16-year-old. The road from boyhood to manhood is a rocky one. Not all boys complete the journey.
Here are some of the most inspiring Bible verses on experience:
• Growth through Trials: "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation." - Romans 5:3-4
• Tasting God’s Goodness: "Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!" - Psalm 34:8
• Learning Contentment: "I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little."<- Philippians 4:12
• Experiencing Peace: "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." - John 16:33
• Testing and Approving God’s Will: "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." - Romans 12:2© Dr. Paul Pettit (www.dynamicdads.com)
This post first appeared in New Commandment.org
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Dr. Paul Pettit serves as Director of Career Services at Dallas Theological Seminary and teaches in the departments of Spiritual Formation, Leadership, and Pastoral Ministries. Dr. Pettit is also the founder of Dynamic Dads. Dynamic Dads is a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging fathers everywhere in their demanding yet highly rewarding role of leading their family.
Check out Dr. Paul Pettit’s latest book, "A Courageous Identity: Accepting the Call of Christ-Centered Masculinity:" https://tinyurl.com/yc4dds3x
