Harmful Or Helpful Mentoring

And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 2 Chronicles 24:2 KJV

How influential are the people in your life? How much do you depend upon them to keep you aligned with the things of God? Read through the book of Proverbs and you will find verse upon verse that warns of wrong companionships and the wisdom that marks the life of one who is connected with godly people. And yet people can only influence us to a certain point. At some stage in our life, our walk must become so connected to and dependent upon God that we continue in His ways long after the most influential person is gone.

Joash is a reminder to me of the necessity of seeking out an individual relationship with God and allowing Him to carve out my belief system and my life. For if I do not transfer the connection from a person to my Creator I open myself up to a fall. For forty years Joash had an incredible record of right living. He was used of God to repair the house of the Lord. He turned a nation from idolatry back to true worship. His personal mentor was Jehoiada the priest and under his influence he flourished. But when Jehoiada died, Joash listened to the wrong people and spiraled down until his own life was eventually taken. 2 Chronicles 23 and 24 show the amazing rise and tragic defeat of a king who never learned to allow God to be his main influence. While Jehoiada was certainly meant to be a godly influence on Joash, something was amiss.

As one who has had the opportunity to be mentored in my Christian life I know two things. The temptation to cling to the human source and the growth that comes when I finally take hold of God with all my heart, soul, and mind. Until that happens, I am not standing on my own spiritual legs and living dependent upon God. Mentors are meant to point us to God not to replace Him. My mentor knew that and I painfully learned it. It has taken over a year to wade through the issues and learn to take hold of God’s hand. There are still days I want to be under the nurturing care of a mentor. But I know God’s intent is to complete the transfer. My growth depends on it, my relationship with Him depends on it, and my involvement in His kingdom work depends on it. Today is another day of taking the steps that lead to that end.

It is in the experience of isolation that the Lord develops an independence of life and of faith so that the soul no longer depends on the continual help, prayers, faith, and care of others. Then we realize that He has done a new work within us and that the wings of our soul have learned to soar in loftier air. ~ Streams In The Desert

Father, may the only hand I grab hold of with permanence be Yours. Amen.