Wisdom and Guidance ...

Tuesday, May 4, 2021. Who is your advisor? Who is coaching you for your life? I had a professional coach some years ago, to reflect and work on my professional activity. Coaching can be a chance to reflect what you do and how you do it. It can be a chance to develop perspective for a particular area of your professional life. But far beyond that, can coaching be a chance for your general life as well! But who can do coaching?

Coaching …

In Christian churches the topic of spiritual mentoring is well known for centuries. It started with the biblical figures, with Paul being a mentor to Timothy. The prophets in the Old Testament have been mentors to leaders and many people. John the Baptist has been a mentor to all who came into the wilderness.

Mentoring can go beyond the pure human factor. Spiritual mentoring is linked to the spirit of God, the holy spirit. The bible reports that God wants to be our mentor himself. He wants to be there, with people of faith. He wants to be the teacher, the companion, the guide. Company is part of God's character, it is even part of his existence, which is God in father, son and holy spirit. The prophet Isaiah writes about God's activity and desire to be redeemer, companion and guide:

 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. 18 Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; (Isaiah 48, 17-18)

Promise …

God gives far reaching promises to us. He is our redeemer. This little sentence alone has a deep and wide meaning. Humans need the holiness of the Lord, and his power to forgive. I have been wondering for many years now about ethics, about relationships, about the role of forgiveness, about being hurt, about fear and anger. How to comprehend, how to understand, how to fully grasp the meaning and role of all of this.

What I see is: the Lord knows. He knew during all of human history. In all the biblical texts this knowledge is reflected by the word of his prophets, by the experiences of his people, by his presence and activity in human society.

The deep compassion and love of the eternal creator is unbelievable. But it is there. It exists. It is real in a very deep and wide manner, with a reality which is harder and longer lasting than the pure physical reality we know, even than the culture and products of humans, their fame, their highest moments. His word lasts forever, that is what the New Testament tells us, resonating the words long spoken before in the Old Testament.

There is so much more to say about the peace which is like a river, about righteousness like the waves of the sea. They are not something you can understand in one day, nor in one year. But pursuing his ways day by day is fantastic and encouraging. He is the living God, also today . (Roland Potthast)