At age 15, I started lifeguard classes. The group of us lifeguard trainees had an instructor named Linda. Linda was our teacher for everything from lap swimming to academics, first aid and CPR to practicing hands-on rescue techniques in the pool. There was an enormous amount of material to learn, and she was a very hard instructor. During the course, she learned the weaknesses of all the students in the course, and she would ask us the questions she knew we’d have difficulty answering, both as individuals and as a group.
That was a very strange summer; one of the students was a pastor, and he had a pretty busy schedule. My family took a vacation outside the country for a few weeks, and I also attended a youth convention in Colorado. There were a few other scheduling conflicts too, if I recall correctly. As a result, our training schedule was pretty chaotic and wildly inconsistent. Whenever we convened for our first class in awhile, we had to review what we had learned up until that point. We had to practice the first aid and CPR skills once again. We had to get back in the pool and return to our habit of lap-swimming. All of those “first-in-a-long-time” classes provided opportunities for us to demonstrate how much we forgot or didn’t know.
During the reviews, and then during the regular classes, Linda would pose questions in ways that made you question what you thought you knew about the material. You’d go to blurt out an answer because you thought it was an easy question, but she asked it in a way that made you second-guess yourself. As time went on, though, the material became ingrained in our minds and in our muscle memory. We became confident in our knowledge and our actions, and we were able to face increasingly complex challenges.
Linda was a hard instructor, yes, but if I had the choice to go back and do it differently, I would not. I believe that the lessons Linda taught saved lives, and I’m sure that people retained the skills she taught them very well because of the way she did it. I’ll write more about it in a later post, but almost 20 years after I first learned these skills from Linda, long after my certifications had expired, I found myself in a situation where someone’s life depended on me remembering what I learned in those courses. My most recent refresher classes were with a different instructor, but when I needed the knowledge the most, I didn’t think of my most recent refreshers, I thought back to Linda’s instruction. The teachings came flooding back to me, exactly when I needed them urgently, and it’s my belief that I thought of her teaching rather than others’ because of the fervor, the absolute intensity with which the knowledge was drilled into my head, which was a hallmark of Linda’s courses.
If you are a Christian, you have been filled with the Holy Spirit, and are now capable of doing things that you cannot accomplish on your own. You have been commissioned by God to do great things. You can have an impact on an international level if you let Him use you. But as you press on with, or as you begin, this journey, don’t forget the basics. Study God’s word with fervor. Learn from a trustworthy teacher. As you go through your Christian life, you will encounter things that are lies, that are deceptions, and that are downright dangerous. When you find yourself in those situations, your response will come from the training you’ve had and the instruction you’ve received. Reputable Bible teachers, wise and trusted Christian friends, preachers and authors will all have an influence on the way you think and the way you perceive things. In the course of doing great things, don’t neglect these disciplines. You have to remember though, that if you want the answers to be there when you need them most urgently, you have to put in the time up front.
If it’s not your regular practice, dare greatly by cracking open your Bible and by praying to God about what’s on your mind. You might need to get your spiritual house in order before you move on to amazing things.